Para las personas que prefieren escuchar esta junta in español pueden passar con nuestro equipo de interpretes al fondo de la sala del Concilio de la Ciudad para receber assistência.

También pueden sintonizar la transmission de las juntas del Concilio completamente in Spaniel usando el sistema SAP a través de los canales que ve in pantalla.gov Diagonal TV S.A.

Good morning.

The time is now 9 02 a.m.

on August 21st, 2025, and the meeting of the San Antonio City Council is now called to order.

Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilman Corps?

Councilman Castillo Aguillano.

Councilman Biagran.

Here.

Councilman Mungia.

Here.

Councilman Castillo?

Here.

Councilman Galvan.

Councilmember Gavito?

Here.

Councilmember Gonzalez?

Present.

Councilmember Spears?

Here.

Councilmember White?

Mayor Jones.

Here, thank you.

So good morning, everyone.

I'd like to recognize Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez to introduce today's invocator.

Thank you, Mayor.

Father Brian Garcia.

If you would like to come up here, thank you.

Father Brian Garcia is a Roman Catholic priest serving as a director of campus ministry for the Archdiocese of San Antonio and chaplain at St.

Anthony's Catholic Student Center at UTSA.

A proud graduate of UTSA and Antonian High School.

He is passionate about meeting meeting others where they are, regardless of background or status.

Father Brian has been a priest for over eight years and finds joy in ministry, sports, barbecue joints, good books, music, history, and engaging in politics.

Welcome.

He is honored to lead today's invocation before the city council.

I met Father Brian recently at services held at UTSA for three victims of the July 4th Kerrville flood.

Two students and one professor from UTSA, Reese Manchaka, an architecture student, Ella Cahill, a management student, and Dr.

Catherine Eads, a f psychology senior lecturer.

We honored them on that day and honor them here today.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Mayor, City Council, and especially Councilwoman Mesa Gonzalez for allowing me to be here.

I am honored.

Let us pray.

Grant each member clarity of mind, patience of heart, and a spirit of service, so that all choices made may promote the common good and the dignity of every person.

Bless those who live and work in our city, families, leaders, first responders, educators, and all those who serve in any way.

May this meeting reflect cooperation, respect, and a true desire to build a community rooted in justice, peace, and hope for all.

We entrust all we do today to your loving care.

Amen.

Thank you, Father.

Please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

One nation under God.

Okay.

This morning I have a proclamation for the 10th annual World Heritage Festival.

Uh whereas the 10th Annual World Heritage Festival will take place September 3rd through 7th, 2025, within the World Heritage Area and on the grounds of San Antonio's five Spanish colonial missions and Mission San Jose, San Juan, Concepcion, Espada, and the world-renowned Alamo established from 1718 to 1731.

And whereas this year's international celebration commemorates the 10th anniversary of the designation of the missions on July 15th, 2015, as the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Texas and one of the just 26 in the United States.

And whereas the highlight of the festival is a Tour de las Missiones on September 6th, 2025, a one-of-a-kind bike ride, walk and run.

Participants will experience scenic trails, the historic missions, and celebrate with live music, local artisans, food vendors, and more.

Now, therefore, I, Gene Ortiz Jones, mayor of the City of San Antonio, in recognition thereof, do hereby proclaim September 3 through 7, 2025 to be the 10th annual World Heritage Festival Days.

Congratulations.

I know Council Member of Viegran would like to say a few words.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

I am very pleased to announce that the 2025 World Heritage Festival will take place September 3rd through the 7th.

It's like I blinked, and we were at 10 years of this designation.

And it's just an annual event that allows the community to come together and tell the story.

This year I'm very excited because we on the South Side and in conjunction with the Alamo and Toribio Los Soya Day, as we are using the World Heritage Festival as kind of the kickoff to celebrating San Antonio, celebrating the stories and celebrating how we have come.

And I want to thank all the families of the missions, uh, specifically Mission San Jose for their contributions to that beautiful World Heritage Center that we have.

So at this time, I'd like to bring up uh Colleen to the director of World Heritage Office to talk a little about this great event that is a citywide event.

So I expect all my council members to come and stand on stage with me at Mission Marquee.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and Council members.

Thank you, Councilwoman uh Phyllis Via Grant.

We are the first and only World Heritage Site in the state of Texas, and we are celebrating 10 years, and we are doing 10 years of this festival.

I'd like to invite the partners.

Um this uh festival would not happen without all the partners.

We have Bear County, San Antonio River Authority, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, the Alamo, Los Missiones, and of course the City of San Antonio, Office of Historic Preservation, and my team from the World Heritage Office.

So now in its tenth year, the festival has become a signature community celebration with family-friendly events such as several National Park Service tours and Junior Ranger Day, the Alamos Mission Day at the Alamo, of course, and the City of San Antonio's very own Tour de las Missionas on Saturday, September the 6th.

And Tour de las Missionas, in addition to these partners, we have other partners that participate: Storm, SAT Social Ride, AVA America's Walking Club, B-Cycle, IAP, San Antonio, the City of San Antonio's Parks and Recreation, Public Works, and Solid Waste, all give their time and resources to make this festival a fantastic event for San Antonio.

So I'd like to have everyone recognize all our partners here with a maybe a round of applause for them.

And we invite everyone to join us for the Tour de las Missiones, a one-of-a-kind leisurely bike ride ranging from seven to twelve miles, and you get to learn about the missions.

There's also a 5K and a 10K.

There's something from everyone.

We go on our mission River Reach and we uh uh ride bikes through the Mission San Jose.

So it's a wonderful event.

After the festival, we'll have local artisans, community organizations, food vendors, and it's not too late to register.

If you haven't done that yet, you can still register.

The festival promotes the historic San Antonio missions, encourages everyone to celebrate and explore them firsthand while learning about our World Heritage status.

So thank you for this unique opportunity to bring us all together to share this celebration.

Thank you, Mayor Jones and Council members for your time.

If there is no objection, let's get started with the consent agenda so we may clear the agenda for the discussions regarding this first term sheet, which are listed as items four and five.

Okay.

I know you'd like to recognize some of our outstanding chefs.

Um we have some special guests in the day in the audience today, the 2025 to 2027, UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy Chef Ambassador Cohorts.

Yes, thank you.

And I'm going to invite Colleen back up here.

So what we have two World Heritage Designations.

One is our World Heritage Site, the other is the City of Gastronomy.

And for I guess the last three years, we have been uh and Colleen will talk more, is we've had some amazing chefs do some amazing things in being ambassadors to the world and telling the world about San Antonio.

So I'd like Colleen to kind of introduce the team this year.

And if you have a chance to visit their restaurants or visit their places that they they serve at, please um do so.

So Colleen, go ahead.

Okay.

Um Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, City Council members, councilwoman Phyllis Via Grant.

So not only are historic San Antonio missions the first and only UNESCO World Heritage Site in the state of Texas, we are also the only second city, the only city besides Tucson to be a UNESCO creative city of gastronomy.

And so with this, um we uh have started a chef ambassador program.

This is our third cohort.

It started in 2021.

We got the designation in 2017.

So I'd like to introduce our this year's chef ambassadors.

We have six, two of them are traveling.

Um, and so I'd like to start off with Chef Heranimo Lopez, he's the executive chef at Hotel Emma.

We've got Chef Joel Tatu Herrera, he's executive chef at Desert Spoon and Chef owner of Folklores Coffee House.

Chef Lissette Martinez, uh chef owner of NACO and Grayson, and Chef Stephanie Byers, chef owner of Eat Chingon.

So these chefs will be representing San Antonio both locally, nationally, and abroad, and it's a great honor for the have them and to work with them, and we're super excited about this.

Thank you, Colleen.

Let's give a round of the applause for our chefs.

Thank you, Mayor.

Councilwoman Corps, if you'd like to say a few words.

Thank you so much, Mayor.

I just wanted to say congratulations to the chef ambassadors.

I have to do a little humble brag, so many of them have restaurants in District One.

So we're so proud to have you guys in District One and can't wait to see all of the future of the airport food ambassador work as well because you're gonna be able to come into San Antonio and truly see that we are a city uh food city of gastronomy.

So super excited for the work that you all do.

Thank you so much.

Can't wait to eat at all the restaurants soon.

Great.

I echo my colleagues.

Uh congratulations for us to be only one of two is so important, especially as we look at uh the number of ways in which we can continue to strengthen um our connections with uh communities all over the world in light of what's going on is extremely important and certainly through the stomach has always been a key and a very important way to do so.

Okay.

All right, so that's all of them.

Okay.

So you'd like to I'd like to call for a motion to approve the minutes from August 6th and 7th.

Second yep, please vote.

Great.

The motion passes at this point.

At this point, if there's no objection, uh, let's get started with the consent agenda so we may clear the agenda for the discussions regarding this first term sheet, which are listed as items four and five.

Regarding the consent agenda items, items six through thirty-three are on the consent agenda.

This means they will be considered as a group and there will not be a staff presentation unless pulled for individual consideration.

Are there any council items council members would like to pull from the consent agenda to be heard individually?

No, okay.

Hearing none, madam clerk, do we have any members of the public signed up to speak on the consent agenda?

Yes, we have some members signed up to speak on the consent agenda.

Okay.

They're on the back of your list.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

The first person to speak on the consent agenda item is uh Veronica Sandoval, followed by Thelma Gonzalez.

You'll have two minutes to speak.

If they start talking about four and five, they need to wait.

Good morning, Madam Mayor and City Council members.

I am uh speaking in regards to the HVAC for um project for farmers market.

We are grateful to be here today to express our strong support for the long-awaited replacement of the HVAC system in the farmers market building at Historic Market Square.

This project has been anticipated for many years, and both our customers and business owners are eager eager to finally see these critical improvements approved and implemented.

However, we must also bring to your attention a serious concern regarding the installation process.

We were recently informed by the assistant director that in order to install the new HVAC units, all businesses will be required to remove their merchandise, equipment, fixtures, and remain closed for the duration of the replacement.

This is an estimated five-month process.

At this time, no plan has been presented to support or temporarily locate these small businesses during the closure.

There also has not been any consideration for the many employees who will be out of work during the extended period.

Simply waiving rent for these months, while appreciated, is not enough to sustain our businesses, our employees, or our families.

We respectfully ask that the mayor and city council require comprehensive plan to address these challenges before the replacement process begins.

This plan should include options for temporary uh relocation of affected businesses, financial assistant, or grab grant opportunities to offset the significant loss of income, support for displaced employees during the closure period.

The businesses here are proud to contribute to success, but we cannot survive a five-month shutdown without meaningful support.

We urge you to consider the livelihoods of the families, employees, and small business owners who make Market Square thrive.

Ma'am, you say maybe submit the rest of you have comments for the for the record.

Thank you.

Thalma Gonzalez, please, two minutes, followed by uh Steve Versteag.

Steve Versteak.

Stephanie Reyes, there's Steve.

Two minutes, excuse me.

I I didn't think I signed up for the consent agenda.

I signed up for item four.

Okay, you're okay.

We'll take you off of this list.

Thank you.

Stephanie Reyes.

Good morning, Mayor City Council members.

My name is Stephanie Reyes, proud president and CEO for the Real Estate Council of San Antonio.

Great to be here.

You know, you've heard a lot about the long-term economic benefits of this project, so I wanted to focus on.

If this is not about the consent agenda, but items four or five, that's in a separate public comment section.

Yes, I'm here to speak on five.

Okay.

Uh we'll we will come back to that item.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Jack Finger, you have two minutes.

My name is Jack M.

Finger.

Yeah.

A few items I wish to bring to your attention on this consent agenda.

Basically, I'm numbers 30, 31, 32, et cetera, here.

And yeah.

Basically, you call it affordable housing.

I call it welfare housing.

Why?

Because we, the taxpayers, are subsidizing people who are trying to, who are applying for housing in various parts of our town, our city here.

But uh not only that, but item number 30 is especially egregious.

Uh Mr.

Audible Mayor should show show scroll down to the bottom there of the area median income, the average income.

What kind of persons are going to be applying?

Well, people who make 50% or less.

You see the middle circle, and those who make 30% or less.

Also, something else really disturbing.

Flip the page if you would, Mr.

Audiovisual Man to the next page there.

A few things I circled for your introspection there.

Uh scroll up to the top if you would there.

Yeah, once again, you see uh for for the owner.

Not just the renters are going to get these uh uh uh benefits, but also the owner is going to get 80 percent if he's uh below the uh average uh area median income or 50 percent.

These are what you're doing.

But I think the most really bad thing I see on this is look at the the the horizontal black lines there.

It says for five-year forgivable loan.

Five year forgivable loan.

Yeah, this is an item number 30.

Um scroll down a little further.

You say property owners will receive uh not too much property owners will receive a reimbursement of up to 25,000 dollars.

25,000 and 35,000.

That's our tax dollars that you're giving away.

I really wish y'all would pull these things for some deliberation.

Thank you.

All individuals signed up to speak have spoken.

Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda?

I make a motion to approve.

Okay, it is moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda.

Are there any highlights or questions about excuse me?

Sorry.

Um, this side okay.

Okay.

Council members, are there any highlights or questions about the consent agenda?

Please.

Councilwoman Castillo.

Thank you, Mayor.

This morning I would like to highlight a couple of items.

We all know the work starts before the disaster hits, and that's why I'm eager to highlight item number seven.

I would like to thank Congressman Castro for earmarking necessary funds through the community project fund grant.

And I would also like to thank our district five infrastructure director, Stephanie Morales and Derek, who's now in the district team, district six team, um, for ensuring to have the patience, understanding, and knowledge to explain the need for this project to affected constituents located under the proposed new FEMA flood zone maps.

Also extremely grateful for the work and leadership of Rosie, his team, Victoria and Jessica, and the stormwater director for being with my staff staff rather every step of the way.

This collaboration between my office, our congressman, stormwater staff, and community form the neighborhood communication advocacy group to ensure that our constituents have as much information necessary in a transparent manner as possible.

So thank you all so much for this.

We look forward to the continued work to ensuring that we uh alleviate risk in our community.

And I would also like to highlight item 30, which is approval for the Casita in Incentives Pilot Program.

This pilot has been part of a big effort through the strategic housing implementation plan to build more affordable housing throughout the city of San Antonio while providing stability to existing homeowners by presenting an opportunity to generate additional income with their property.

I especially love that the additional incentives homeownership uh who decided to build uh at 30% AMI that they can receive uh more support.

A big thank you to the NHSD staff who work really hard to ensuring that the city of San Antonio and this council stick to the strategic housing implementation plan.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um Councilwoman Cor.

Thank you, Mayor.

I have a few appointees to highlight today.

Um a lot of them are being reappointed, but only several of them could come.

Is Carlos Mayestis here?

Carlos, if you could please stand.

So I'm super excited to reappoint Carlos to the Brooke City Board, and he is an amazing community leader, as a storyteller by trade, and is actually the board chair of the SAISD Foundation this year.

So if anyone is here that's supporting schools, thank you all for everything that you do for that school district and for your leadership in the community.

I know you're an incredible asset, and I appreciate your work there.

Um I also wanted to highlight Audrey Zamora.

She's in the line outside.

Um I'm not sure, Audrey.

Have you made it in yet?

Um okay, maybe Audrey is not inside yet.

Audrey is a student at the Young Women's Leadership Academy in SAISD, but she lives in District One, and she's going to be our appointee on the youth commission.

The youth commission, for those of you who don't who don't know, work to really advocate for the needs of our youth across the city, and we've had previous leaders in that committee that actually came when there were some challenges with the books last cycle and came and presented to the council.

So I know she's going to be a great asset.

We actually wrote her an excuse note to be here all day for council today.

So she'll get a really good uh lesson in local governance today.

And then I don't know if Katie Serrakas is here, but she's being appointed to the small business uh advisory committee.

And so thank you all for all of the folks that are appointees of all of our districts.

We appreciate so much the work they do.

They're a volunteer, they're meeting on a monthly quarterly basis to really help move the issues that we find as priorities forward.

Um and the last thing I wanted to highlight was the market square item, item number six.

And I know there's some challenges that are going on at Market Square.

I want to thank city staff for extending the rent abatement for those folks through September through the construction that's going on at Zona Cultural, and continue to know that we'll be working with tenants there as we uh do these much needed renovations for the HVAC system.

Thanks.

Thanks, Mayor.

Uh Councilmember Galivan.

Thank you, Mayor.

I want to highlight item 20 for my appointees to the uh district six uh boards of commissions.

Uh if Dan Rosseter, Michael Rendon, Fernanda Cárdenas, and Donovan Guerrero could come up to the uh main podium here.

Just want to highlight you all together.

Um we have a bunch of people we're highlighting today, but we won't be able to, every single person, so I want to meant or they weren't all here.

So I want to mention Laura Lopez, Merle Britton, um Larissa Martinez, and Kinwee, all incredible community leaders in District 6 that are doing great work for their neighborhoods and for the entire district, and I've been doing it for a while.

But the folks that are here today, I'm really excited to also shout out Dan, of course, has been an active community member in his neighbor association, Thunderbird Hills, uh, which we share with District 7.

Always good to be able to work together with my colleague to the left of me uh to work together for the neighborhood uh where I went to high school.

Um Dan is an active community advocate focused on bringing investment to underserved communities across San Antonio and has served as president of the neighborhood uh for Thunderbird Hills Association since 2019 and other numerous uh numerous civic roles across the community involving the City Bond, transit, and green space.

Dennis served on the Brooks Development Uh Board of Directors since 2021 and as board treasurer since 2024.

I'm happy to reappoint him as well.

And please remain saying so I can come by really quick to get picture.

Um LGBTQ advisory board, I want to highlight, of course, Michael Rendon from District 6, an incredible community leader uh not only here in our city but nationally as well.

Michael Rendon serves as the National Board of Governor for the Human Rights Campaign, which is the largest civil rights organization in the country.

Michael's recently awarded the Building Comunidad Award and Pride Leadership Award in Washington, D.C.

at the HRC National Leadership Award ceremony.

And when he's not fighting for equality, he loves traveling with his husband, Michael Manarales, and spending time with their family and their friends.

Fernanda Cardinus, incredible community leader with Gonzaba and many other groups, especially uh also serving uh in the library uh board of trustees too.

Uh she's serving now as well uh at the Port of Authority uh San Antonio.

Maria Fernanda Cárdenas is a nonprofit leader and community advocate dedicated to improving the quality of life for underserved population in San Antonio with a focus on older adults.

Her and I had great conversations about what we can do together for our seniors in our community, not just uh in the heart of District 6, but across the entire district on the far edges of both Edgewood and Almo Ranch.

And I'll never forget her calling me on a Sunday morning, and it was just a great conversation to get me ready to have these conversations more with seniors for my morning breakfast, too.

Uh she continues to champion initiatives to reduce health disparities among vulnerable communities.

Uh, and I'm glad to have her be recognized for her numerous awards for her advocacy, and I know she'll be continuing fighting for every single person here in our city and in District 6.

Last but certainly not least, uh, an incredible young leader in District 6.

Uh, Jonathan Garetto uh being appointed to the youth commission.

Uh Jonathan is a distinguished student leader from San Antonio, being in the top five of his JROTC unit and excelling in the engineering strand at construction careers at Catherine High School.

Or he maintains straight A's, which is better than me when I was a student.

Business owner and self-taught coder.

He is a founded uh initiatives that combine innovation with community impact.

He's an aspiring lawyer.

Jonathan's dedicated to leveraging his leadership discipline and an entrepreneurial drive to serve his community and change the world for the better.

Thank you very much for being here.

And if you need an excuse letter too, like Councilman Corbin.

I am more than happy to make sure that North Side ISD knows where you're at today.

So I'm gonna come down really quick to get a picture.

But thank you all for being here.

Yeah, I'm sorry.

Councilman Mesla Gonzalez.

Thank you, Mayor.

Highlighting items 22 uh two appointees.

Uh Sarah Shakil is this Sarah Shekill here?

I do not believe so.

Sarah Shekill is a small business owner operating in the city across all 10 districts for the past 20 years.

She ode she holds a bachelor's degree in business management in psychology, a master's in business administration, and a PhD in industrial and organizational psychology.

She is uh Sarah's being reappointed to the Small Business Advisory Commission for District 8.

Also, um, Javier Tristan, I believe he's here in the back.

If you can please stand hi.

Thank you, Javier.

Javier is a San Antonio resident for the past four decades.

He is the Ego Ride Inc.

founder and president.

Rosie Tours founder and CEO, and has over 25 years of experience in Hilton Hotel Transportation.

He has also volunteered the church under the bridge and Haven for Hope in his spare time.

Javier is being reappointed to the Transportation Advisory Board for District 8.

Thank you to Javier and Sarah for your continued service in our community and in District 8.

Thank you.

Before we continue, it's almost like midnight mass in here today.

So as it would, as I would happen with if I was there, uh my mom would say you are young and strong, stand up so somebody else can sit down.

So I know we have some older folks that are maybe on the sidelines or maybe still waiting to come in.

Um if you are able to stand and you see some younger some older folks, uh please give them your seat.

Thank you.

All right, there being no further discussion, there's a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda.

That is items six and through 33.

Um please vote.

Good.

Okay.

The motion carries.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Okay, let's get started with items four and five, uh, which will be discussed at the at the same time, but voted on individually.

Uh Madam Clerk, please read the captions.

Item number four is a resolution under which the city council will not consider a proposed term sheet with the San Antonio Spurs for a proposed arena downtown until A, the City Council receives an independent economic impact study for the arena by a firm with no association with the Spurs organization or ownership with economic analysis on par with what the city of Philadelphia received in 2024, notably impact on general fund.

And two, each city council member has hosted at least two in-person publicly announced engagements with their constituents to receive feedback on the completed independent economic impact study and any proposed term sheets.

Item number five is a resolution authorizing the city manager to complete negotiations and execute a non-binding term sheet with San Antonio Spurs Holdings LLC related to a downtown arena with substantially similar terms to the posted draft term sheet.

Great.

Okay.

Great.

Um so in accordance with the uh the agenda, I will I will present um I will present first.

Let me also just take a point of privilege.

We've got number 32 in the house.

Uh 32, can you stand up?

I've it's uh just kidding.

As I have shared numerous times, I may or may not still have your card, right?

Your your trading card.

Um, please present.

Uh please bring up my first slide.

Okay.

Um I feel very strongly about this because I want us to be successful.

I want our community to revitalize our downtown.

I want to make sure the Spurs stay in San Antonio for as long as possible.

I do want to make sure, and I think that is best accomplished when folks have feel like they have all of the data and feel like they have been brought into the process.

Um so I've been very clear about why I think it's important that we take a strategic pause to ensure that is in fact the case.

Okay.

Um, and I think the community can appreciate much of the information um that is pertinent to negotiations.

We've just received in the last 60 days.

Okay.

Uh in the last 60 days, the community has just become aware of the county's contribution, which is 311 million dollars, um, absent a community benefits agreement and the Spurs' contribution of a 500 million dollars.

On July 25th, uh, which is less than 30 days from today, less than 30 days from today, um, we were first uh the city council was first publicly presented with a range of potential contributions from the city, which would be 350 million to 500 million less than 30 days ago.

Assuming the Spurs arena cost is 1.3 to 1.5.

You may be asking, how did we get to this point if you were watching the news and you thought, well, I thought you all were going to, you know, discuss this in exact session and then potentially act on this next week.

In all transparency, over the weekend, I received uh some information uh that there may be a um a push, frankly, to have a public vote on the term sheet as soon as today.

And so by um by submitting my resolution, uh, that the intent of that is to preserve us some decision space.

Okay, to preserve us some decision space, because again, um, the term sheet um we had not for folks to want to vote on a term sheet um as of Sunday night that we had not yet seen by Sunday night, I thought was premature.

And so wanted again to preserve that um that decision space, but also ensure my colleagues um could weigh in on that uh proposed term sheet with the benefit of an independent economic study as well as the benefit of the feedback from their people.

Um shortly after on that same evening, um, five council colleagues requested to vote on the vote today on the proposed term sheet.

Again, a term sheet that we had not yet seen as of Sunday evening.

Next slide, please.

Due diligence is not anti-progress, it is anti-poverty.

It is really important that we look take a hard look and get an independent look at the numbers.

Um I would like nothing more than the assessment that has been provided to be 100% accurate.

Um, hope though, is not a strategy.

We have seen in our community the times where we have not necessarily done our due diligence and we can see the impacts of those each day.

And again, uh this is about making sure that our folks have the data and are brought into the conversation.

At this point in time, the only economic data that we have regarding this has been provided by the Spurs.

Um, and again, I think an independent look at this would allow us the confidence uh to go sell this to our community and sell it hard.

If that independent economic data comes back and says, you know what, those Spurs numbers, they're right on, go for it, then we'll do that.

If that independent economic data though shows something different, if it shows something different, then we owe it to the people of San Antonio to help them understand the difference, because they will live with the consequences.

We will live with the consequences.

The Spurs' consultant completed an economic um study in January of 2025.

That study was shared with myself and the council in July of 2025.

Okay.

And I know in the back of, or maybe the front of some people's minds, uh, given their economic reality.

Um, on the horizon, we are going to see federal cuts in Medicare and Medicaid and SNAP and Social Security, the children's health insurance plan, uh, tariffs, the impact, this, the impact of this project on our bond capacity, the fact that we are already living with 18% poverty, and as the city staff mentioned, if we don't do anything to help ourselves become structurally sound, our budget gap grows to 220 million dollars by 2030.

This is just due diligence.

I'm not trying in any way uh uh to to stop anything, but just make sure we are going into something eyes wide open, given what we know is on the horizon for our community.

Next slide, please.

Here are a couple of the questions that I think are really important for us to understand and and consider given the complexity of this project.

Um can we in fact support this number of arenas in our community?

What is the impact to our general fund?

The fund through which we pay for libraries and senior centers and cops and pool and and uh and fire and EMS.

This is not data that we should be afraid of.

This is data that we should welcome and demand.

Can we financially support this number of arenas given the size of our corporate base, which is much much smaller than other uh other cities in the top 10?

Can we support this financially given the number of high-income and low-income populations in our community?

Again, this is just data that we all should appreciate to help us understand if we can afford this.

Next slide, please.

I am very concerned, um, frankly, based on the feedback that I have received, um, very concerned that if the public does not trust this process, um, they may not come out and support the vote, the county's vote in November.

I'm concerned about that.

Because I don't know what would happen if that vote fails.

So we help ourselves, we help our community by showing them that we've done our due diligence, we've gone out and and got the independent data that corroborates or maybe shows a difference in what we've been presented, but we've done what we needed to do, right?

And then we go get their feedback, we go get their feedback.

I was just at a town hall regarding the budget, and folks were very interested in providing feedback on a potential 489 million dollar contribution from the city.

They were very interested in that.

I think they would also be very interested in understanding the the significance, the results from the independent economic um study, which is why it is my recommendation that this body not vote on a term sheet.

Some will say, oh, it's non-binding.

Well, I just laid out the process for you how quickly this has moved.

Good luck trying to pull back 489 million dollars.

So taking the time to lay this out for our people with independent data and working to get their feedback will only increase the odds the county's November vote is successful.

And if independent data is not available by November, we can tell people in good faith it's coming, it's coming, and folks should vote on the merits of the county's $311 million contribution.

Next slide, please.

So we have the time and we have the resources.

Um, a 489 million dollar city contribution.

I know there have been been some estimates regarding um you know what a what an independent economic impact study would cost.

I think what has been thrown around 250 to 500K is is actually quite high when I looked at the cost of this of the uh of the CSS L CSL studies, but let's just take as given the numbers that have been presented or offered.

So for a 489 million dollar city contribution, on the low if if the city if the study excuse me costs 250K, that is the equivalent of 0.05 of our contribution.

If the cost is 500K, that comes out to 0.1% of our contribution.

That is the equivalent of spending one dollar to understand understand if you should spend one thousand.

When you look at the timeline here, uh, this is a timeline that um our city manager shared with me yesterday.

Um, and if you're asking, yes, this has been approved by the Spurs.

Um, so you can see um the we have all of calendar year 2026 to uh to to negotiate and and so forth.

Um, the earliest that the city would call a vote is for the bond in May 2026, and we would have until February to do that.

So we have five months, five months to get the data and to receive public input.

That is sufficient time to do that.

I wasn't planning on doing this, but because I see Mr.

Holt, um, may I ask um Mr.

Holt, thank you for joining us today.

Would you have an issue with the community taking a little bit more time to get the point of order?

Yeah.

Point of order.

Yeah.

When this presentation should have been made from uh the front and second, this this was not in the presentation that we were calling up uh audience members.

I think I think they should be saved for uh uh our our discussion, council discussion.

Okay.

Um city attorney, is there any issue with me asking the the question right now uh no issue, Mayor, other than other than as the councilwoman pointed out, if there's gonna be council discussion, it should be part of that.

But it wasn't meant to be council discussion, it's it was just one question to the Spurs owner.

Understood.

I I I I feel I feel this is council discussion, and for council discussion, we need a we need a motion and a second.

Yeah, point point of order, Andy.

I I agree with the councilwoman.

I I think we need a motion and a second on item four um prior to to going into discussion with anyone sorry?

Uh uh I would recommend uh it is a simple thing.

Just ask for a motion and a second, and then we can continue.

Okay.

Okay.

I'd like to uh I I asked one question to Mr.

Holt.

Is there a uh I'd like I'd like to make a motion to hear from him.

Um is there a uh is there a is there a motion, is there a second to do that?

Uh I'm sorry, Mayor.

No, no, no.

Yeah, sorry.

A motion to approve seconded, then we can get into the discussion.

I think that's a good question.

Item number four.

Yeah.

Apologies, thank you.

So we may move to discussion.

There's a second.

Okay.

Ask him.

Okay.

Mr.

Holt, if you'd be so kind as to um approach the podium, or maybe from there if you'd like to share.

Would welcome hearing from you directly.

I think there's been a lot of um concern about you know the Spurs um uh the reaction, potential reaction to us taking a little bit more time to ensure we had an independent study to corroborate um what your organization has provided.

Is there any um at this point opposition from the Spurs to uh us taking some time to do an independent study and then allowing time for us to engage our constituents?

Yeah, thanks, Mayor.

Uh we believe that there's tremendous um data already existing that shows really big economic impact of a new arena in the urban core, and then the independent study by CSL that the city staff um used, validated those numbers, uh, which is the same group that um did the economic impact study in Philadelphia uh as well.

And so we feel like there's uh tremendous positive data that shows this project, this arena is gonna be great for San Antonio, and that's why we're willing to make uh uh a historic investment in our community and a historic investment in our urban core, which we're excited about.

Thank you for that.

At a um at a previous um session, we had a meeting um and it was some concern about some of the um ownership of of CSL, and so I think uh the independent um assessment of the numbers would be helpful to our community to say uh to show that you know we have gotten a level of analysis, economic rigor on par with what Philadelphia got by done but done by an entity uh that did not have um any ownership ties with the with the Spurs organization.

Would you still and again I think this is in the in in the interest of making sure we're successful in in November?

So in light of that, um, would there be any opposition from the Spurs organization uh to us seeking an independent economic assessment and affording us additional time to engage with our constituents, not only on the findings of that independent study, but also uh the draft term sheet.

I think there's ample information that exists today that shows incredible positive impact, which is why we're willing to invest billions of dollars in this project and commit to a community benefits agreement that has never been done in San Antonio and continue to pour time, energy, love, and money into this city that belongs to the Spurs and that uh the Spurs belong to it.

And um I think there's tremendous data that exists.

Um I think there's also uh a tremendous opportunity that we have between now and the election uh to uh create an awareness campaign and go out and talk to our constituents and your constituents and uh leave it up to them to vote in November if they support this project, which we we are very positive about.

So the clapping is is unlike midnight mass.

Um I'm gonna try just one more time.

Um, just kind of yes or no, Mr.

Holt.

Is there an opposition to us seeking an independent economic study and allowing us additional time to engage with our constituents?

Just yes or no, please.

I'm gonna try one more time again.

There's ample information that that shows that this city deserves this city deserves.

Order, order, please, order.

This city deserves an urban core that we are proud of, that is unifying, that's accessible, and that makes San Antonio world class, continues San Antonio's progress to be a world-class destination, and we're willing to invest billions of dollars into that.

Thank you.

Eric, do you have a presentation you'd like to make for the next item, Mayor?

Correct.

Okay.

Yeah.

We'll go ahead and move to the one second.

Is that Madam Clerk?

Eric can make his presentation right now.

Since we're having the public speak on both four and five, it would be helpful if the public could see both presentations.

Uh well, uh I'm gonna I'm gonna point of order.

I'm I'm gonna ask Andy.

Uh I I don't I don't know that I have an objection to hearing them both now, but but we are gonna have separate votes, right?

First on four and and then on five.

Is that right?

That's correct, Councilman.

They're separate items, so they require separate votes.

All right.

Well, if my if my colleagues are okay with hearing hearing both, then then yeah, let's go ahead then, Eric.

Thank you.

Thank you for confirming what I just said, Councilman White.

Um City Manager Walsh, please.

Thank you.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

Um, as Ben goes up to the presentation, um, it's a relatively short presentation that recaps um the term sheet that was uh listed on today's agenda.

Um I I wanted to, as he gets prepared, kind of reset for the council, the objectives that we utilized um to negotiate the term sheet.

Um was to not use any existing city funds to pay for the arena.

Two was to mitigate the city's risk associated with the arena.

Three, uh achieve a guaranteed private development uh on city property surrounding the arena.

Four, negotiate a community benefits agreement over the complete 30-year term, and then lastly, uh ensure the Spurs remain in San Antonio long term.

Um the term sheet accomplishes those five objectives, and uh I'll turn it over to Ben to kind of walk through it's a short presentation.

I know there are a lot of folks in the room that want to want to speak, so we'll get through this quickly.

Ben Thank you, Eric.

Thank you, Eric.

Good morning, Mayor and Council members.

If you could thank you.

So just as a reminder again, we've talked about this.

This term sheet is a non-binding framework for future definitive negotiations on definitive agreements for the project.

It does not constitute an offer acceptance or a legally binding agreement.

It is an agreement between the city and the Spurs that is conditioned upon the approval of the ballot measure that the Bear County Commissioner's Court has put forth for November 4th on the venue tax funding for this project.

Just at a high level again, we're talking about the arena project specifically.

This slide has been updated.

You've seen it before, but essentially outlines the funding for the arena itself.

The Spurs contribution is on the far left at 500 million dollars plus any cost overruns.

The county number is at 311 million dollars with a potential contribution of it's up to 25% of the project cost, uh, up to a maximum of 311 million.

Our contribution in the term sheet would be up to 38% of the cost of the arena, up to a maximum of 489 million.

If you add up the 500 million, the 311 and the 489, that is the 1.3 billion dollar approximate costs that you see on the bottom of this slide.

It is approximate because it can change.

Uh the really important features over on the left.

If it does go above the 1.3 billion dollars, that is solely the Spurs responsibility.

Breaking that down a little bit more.

Again, the Spurs team will put in $500 million plus cost plus any cost overruns.

And then on the county side, we've got uh the venue tax, which is really comprised of two things: the county hot tax at 1.75%.

Uh they've got an inclusion in there to take that to 2%, which is the maximum allowed under state law, and then we've got the motor vehicle rental tax at 5%.

That is what it will be on the November 4th election that would allow up to a maximum contribution of $311 million.

Again, as Eric talked about, the structure of our contribution to the arena was predicated on not using existing city resources uh or funds.

This is that structure.

So on the the top part here, we've got the arena lease.

So when the arena is built, the Spurs will be paying uh a lease or rent for that building.

Um we have the hemisphere TURS that has very little development in it today, that they will be providing guaranteed new mixed-use development uh hotel, office, housing, uh, and retail that will be constructed over about a 12-year period of time.

The property taxes from that will be guaranteed through that TERS, so that's a funding source, and then the ground leases for that private development will be part of the funding structure as well.

And then on the far right, we have our project financing zone that we re-established in May of this year that designated uh the convention center complex as the qualifying project.

That includes the arena, the convention center, and the Alamo Dome.

So these are state revenues that are incremental revenues in a three-mile zone around the complex.

So these are revenues that would normally flow to the state budget.

They they're gonna allow us to capture and use for this project.

All of those combined get us to the 489 million dollar contribution that I mentioned maximum.

This slide is new from what you've seen before.

I'm gonna spend a little bit of time on it and describe what it is.

So when we take that 489 million dollar contribution to the arena and we do a bond financing, how does that debt get paid for?

This slide outlines that.

So on the top, the arena lease, the new development and development within the hemisphere TURS, the ground lease that will be paid by private developers.

When you combine all of that revenue stream and we project that over the life of the debt, it accounts for about 52% of that debt service.

The remaining 48% comes from the state's incremental hotel associated revenue that I mentioned in that three-mile zone.

So it's really combination of using the Spurs and developers, guarantees, contributions, and um leases and rents, along with the state's incremental hotel associated revenue that allows us to pay for the debt service on these bonds.

Now I'm gonna mention because I'm sure I'll get the question about why it still says preliminary.

This bond issue, it would be scheduled for around 2028, the probably fall of 2028.

That timeline could slide a little bit, but as with any bond issue that we do, it's gonna be preliminary until we get closer to the bond sale itself because we've got to look at where the financial markets are, you got to look at where interest rates are.

We will structure the debt based on what we see in the market at that point in time, debt service reserves, how we structure the debt, how much is callable, all those features will go in, and obviously we will do everything we can to drive down the cost of borrowing, like we would on any bond issue that we do.

This next slide just highlights uh the area that we're talking about.

The lighter shaded area is the district that we have been uh discussing before, highlights the areas of investment.

We've got the expansion of the convention center, we've got uh uh potential potential renovation of the Wood Federal Courthouse into music venue.

We've of course got the Spurs Arena renovations of the Alamo Dome and potentially a hotel later on uh to the north, uh kind of where the Sauce Chillwater plant is today.

So the light shaded area just is really describing the area that we're talking about from a district perspective, the areas of investment uh that we have been focused on on the projects that we have been working on.

The darker blue area is specifically related to the term sheet and outlines uh two things.

One, it outlines the area where the arena would go if this moves forward, and the second is it outlines those areas of private development where those guaranteed development is gonna be coming from, the Spurs and their developer or developers.

Um it's about approximately 25 acres, about seven acres will be used for the arena, about eight eighteen acres for that mixed use private development.

These slides I'm gonna go through pretty quickly.

These are really just coming out of a turn out of the term sheet.

I'll just highlight the provisions, but obviously there's more detail within the term sheet that's attached to the item.

But again, the Spurs, when we talk about their obligations in the term sheet, they will be responsible for making a contribution of $500 million to the arena project itself, plus covering any cost overrun.

So if that number exceeds $1.3 billion, that is solely their responsibility to fund.

They will also be required along with a developer or developers to commit to $1.4 billion in guaranteed taxable value increment for new mixed use development over a 12-year period.

That will occur on the 18 acres that we just looked at on the previous slide, uh, and will occur and be built out over the 12-year period.

It is broken up in the term sheet into two uh phases.

This is really important because that first phase, the $500 million in guaranteed taxable value, has to go in at the same time as the arena.

There's language in the term sheet that it that requires that that development be ready to move and be executed at the same time the arena moves forward.

If it doesn't, we don't move forward with our financing.

So those two are tied.

So that development will go in at the same time as the arena.

The remaining 900 million dollars or so will go in over the balance of that uh development period.

Uh community benefits, the Spurs will contribute 2.5 million dollars annually over the arena lease term, which is a which is 30 years for a total of 75 million dollars.

Uh as we had talked about before and had recommended uh it is funding coming into this community benefits fund at the end of the day, that funding will be allocated based on a process that you all decide.

Uh they will continue to maintain their historic philanthropic efforts within the community.

Many of those are listed in the in the term sheet.

I won't go through all those, but obviously they talk about youth sports, support for small businesses.

There's a long list there.

The Spurs intend, as they uh told us, to continue to do those efforts in the community as well.

They also agreed as part of the term sheet to pay the city's entry wage as a minimum for all full-time employees at the arena.

Another key point here as the Spurs will provide after if we have a successful election in November, they will provide up to $30 million in funding that would occur this calendar year that the city will use to buy the federal property from the General Services Administration.

That property will be owned by us, the city, and will be leased to private developers.

So we'll be getting the ground lease and that private development on that.

But this contribution was important from the standpoint that this is something we need to probably execute by the end of this calendar year.

Um this provided a source of funding for us to be able to do that.

We had other options, but this is a a better option for us to be able to move forward, execute and buy that property, and we're able to work that out in partnership with the Spurs.

Uh the Spurs will also pay initial rent in the arena in year one when it opens, it'll be $4 million escalating by 2% year thereafter.

Just to put that in context, they pay $1.3 million per year.

I think that has been the rent that has been in place in their current deal for 30 years or will be for 30 years when they go through the end of that lease.

That's 39 million dollars.

This 4 million dollars escalating at 2% has a value of about 160 million dollars.

The Spurs will also solely be responsible for operating and maintaining the arena.

All capital, day of event operation, repairs and replacements, anything that is an issue with the arena will be solely their responsibility.

There is a non-relocation commitment in the term sheet that will require the Spurs Spurs to maintain their NBA franchise in San Antonio, play their home games in the arena, and then there were some exceptions noted in the term sheet.

Just a couple of other things I'll highlight.

The arena will be owned by the city, so by a city controlled entity, I should say.

While the Spurs are going to make a significant investment into the building, the county is going to invest uh a venue tax.

This will be an asset that will be owned and inside of a city controlled entity.

The Spurs will have the exclusive naming, advertising, and broad broadcast rights to the arena.

The city is going to retain naming, advertising, and signage rights to the district, the areas excluding the arena, the remaining arena site, uh, kind of the plaza outside of uh expected plaza outside of the arena and those private development areas that I mentioned.

As part of our as part of the term sheet, obviously, in order to make this deal work, the city's gonna have to move forward and acquire the ITC property from the University of Texas system.

I mentioned the acquisition of the federal property from the General Services Administration.

We'll again be using that $30 million upfront contribution that the Spurs would be making towards this project uh later on this calendar year in order to acquire in order to acquire that property, and then we do need to need excuse me to extend the term of the hemisphere tours.

So we need to align that um with the bond financing.

So as we uh issue debt out of uh out of that with a a source being pledged from the TURS, we need to make sure that aligns with that uh bond financing.

And then uh a couple things I wanted to mention here.

Our contribution of funds I mentioned would happen in 2028.

That timeline could move, but uh as we planned it out, it's in 2028.

In order for us to move forward with an issuance, we've got to hit the financial metrics that that we've been modeling and our assumption.

So things like debt service coverage.

I won't get into the weeds, but as we talk about kind of what those revenues look like, the PFZ revenues, that'll need a little bit of time to mature.

We'll be able to look at those over the next couple of years.

But we're gonna be able we're gonna one of the conditions to this is we've got to be able to hit some metrics from a financial perspective before we would recommend issuing bonds for the project.

Um, the term sheet does also include a reference to a renovation of the arena between the 13th and 15th year of operation.

Um it is subject to agreement on a funding mechanism, so I think in the definitive agreements, it will outline a requirement that that be looked at in the 13th and 15th years, and the parties will review that at that point in time.

Important feature, much like we would with our own buildings or what we should be doing with our buildings is you really want to make sure you refresh, keep them up to date, and do everything you can to extend the life of that building far beyond 30 years.

So that's gonna be important and important uh feature of it as well.

Uh the Spurs and as an NBA basketball team are obviously uh subject to the ongoing authority of the rules of the NBA.

Um a couple of things here on collaboration.

Uh the parties we, the city and the Spurs agree to collaborate on parking, transportation, and security for arena events and related activities.

Uh keep in mind the arena would be opening based on this timeline in roughly the summer of 2032, so about seven years from now.

We'll continue to work with the Spurs.

It would be a shared responsibility.

Um, obviously, we have buildings in the district.

We will have to work on what that looks like in terms of that shared responsibility for these activities.

Um, the last one I'm excited about as well.

This provision really talks about the fact that if our convention center expansion moves forward, it will likely be on a similar path or similar timeline.

Uh, what the Spurs have talked about, what we have talked about with them is really looking for areas where we can identify cost savings to efficiencies, everything from how we procure materials.

I mean, if we can get a better price for buying steel for both facilities, then we should do that.

If we can find ways to be more efficient through the procurement process, then we should do that.

Um capital or how we do project management, all of those elements that go around procurement, uh project management.

We want to look at all those activities and see between those facilities.

Can we capture efficiencies or savings that we could both benefit from?

Um really excited about that approach.

That's something we'll continue to work on with them as well.

Um with that, uh Mayor, that kind of sums up uh the highlights of the term sheet.

Staff does recommend approval, and then we are available for questions.

Thank you, Ben.

Let's move on to members of the public signed up to speak on items four and five.

I will call individuals in order of sign up.

The first person is Graciala Sanchez, followed by Hayward Sanders.

All individuals will have two minutes to speak, and groups of three or more will have a total of six minutes.

Um we have 108 folks signed up to speak.

So I would ask that as I call you and say, hey, you're on deck, please make your way here so we can get through this pretty expeditiously.

So, Graciela Sanchez, followed by Haywood Sanders, please.

I I'm up with um Sherry Campos as well.

So four minutes, please.

Okay.

My name is Graciela Sanchez, and I represent the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center.

We support item number four.

For most of its history, San Antonio has been controlled by its business elite who use government authority to profit off the poor.

This exploitation was aided by at-large election of council members.

In 1977, under threat of suit by Maldiv, the city agreed to single member districts.

We thought that representation by 10 council members would revolutionize the city government because council members would represent the interests of their constituents in different parts of the city.

But 48 years later, we see that control of this city is still in the hands of the financial elite.

And government and government is and government is still being used to exploit our middle and working class communities.

Project Marvel is a vivid example of this.

For about two years, the city manager and his staff have been negotiating a deal to create the sports and entertainment district in backroom sessions, complete with non-disclosure agreements, which have kept you, our elected representatives, out of the discussions.

Finally, on July 25th, our new mayor hosted a special council meeting on Project Marvel.

For the first time, the public was given the opportunity to speak to the council about the project.

And it wasn't until July 28th that we saw the so-called economic analysis, a 22-page promotional packet that lacks supporting data and analysis.

This was less than a month ago, guys, yet you are ready to agree to an extraordinary expenditure of funds on this project.

The details and impact of which you remain ignorant.

You all were told, oh, this is a special arrangement with the state.

The city could keep the state's portion of the hot tax.

But of course, that special arrangement was created by city lobbyists in Austin at the bidding of these same wealthy investors to convince you to approve a commitment of funds and the amount of at least 459 million, that is 549 million, that is 489 million and the extra 60 million for the purchase of the land for the future arena.

And you are willing to accept an unsupported prediction that the hotel tax money will cover this extraordinary commitment without any detailed economic analysis.

In May, you were told this past May you were told that the sales and hot taxes for this coming budget were not meeting budget projections.

But now you believe that the hot tax will generate enough to cover the term sheet commitment.

And they tell you the term sheet is not binding.

But do you really believe that the city council will have another opportunity to renegotiate contribution?

It'll never happen.

And you are doing this without requiring a detailed independent analysis.

Many of you are business people, or you consider yourself caretakers of public funds, but you surely know that a responsible business person would require an independent economic analysis.

So apparently you are willing to compromise your own business integrity in order to serve the interests of San Antonio's economic elite.

Shame on you.

And so much for single member districts and representative democracy in San Antonio.

Heywood Sanders.

Followed by Lupita Gonzalez.

Could you call Antonio Cabral as well?

Antonio Cabral, one second.

Let's find him on your own.

Oh, I see him.

Number 62.

Okay.

Four minutes.

Thank you very much.

And I'm given my time for some.

Mayor, council members, city manager, my name is Hayward Sanders.

I'm a resident of District 1 and a professor emeritus of public administration at UTSA.

I'd like to speak directly to item four and the proposal for an independent economic analysis.

I've looked at the very modest amount of material that the Spurs organization has made available from the report done by Stone Planning on the economic impact of a new arena.

Frankly, there's barely anything there.

There are numbers, but it's impossible to find out what the assumptions are that lie behind the numbers, what the methodology is that generated those numbers, and what those numbers, the likelihood that those numbers actually reasonably represent what we can expect with a second arena.

Most notably, the Stone report indicates that the number of out-of-town visitors and the number of out-of-town, as a result, the number of hotel room nights generated by those out-of-town visitors will more than double.

More than double with a new arena.

Now, unless our existing frost bank center is going to evaporate into thin air, it's simply not clear how a new arena will generate so many new events that will attract the out-of-town visitor activity that drives the economic impact that that report suggests will happen.

You heard from Peter Holt.

He is simply unwilling to support an independent analysis.

It makes no sense.

A second set of eyes, an independent look at the Stone report, and the kind of methodology and assumptions built into it is critical.

And you have the time and you have the resources to make sure that those numbers are reasonable.

Otherwise, we're just talking about whether or not we love the Spurs and whether we have some grand vision and whether, as the seventh largest city in the country, we deserve to have two arenas.

And I'm sorry, for me, and I trust for you, that's simply not good enough.

But let me add something else, particularly when it's been indicated that CSL reviewed those numbers and said they were coincident with other studies that CSL has done.

Because they that report was just released a matter of days ago.

But I've taken a look at that latest CSL report labeled final draft, and there are problems there.

There are questions there, there are numbers that simply don't fit.

And so not only do we need the time, do we need the independent view of the economic impact and potential benefit of a new Spurs arena along with the existing Frost Bank Center?

We need some really serious analysis and answers from CSL.

Thank you, sir.

That can justify what the fact that Lupita Gonzalez, followed by Rob uh Father Aguilar.

Thank you, Mayor, Council.

I urge you to require an independent economic impact analysis before moving forward with any further negotiations or voting on any term sheet.

We citizens and taxpayers deserve full transparency about the costs and benefits of this project, including indirect costs.

I was very shocked at the ninth hour of our last session that city staff were unaware what a displacement impact assessment was.

Also, there was a comment made by city staff saying there will be no displacement.

That is terrifying.

That city staff are ill-equipped, unaware, or pretending to be.

I don't know which it is.

I urge you to also require a race and health equity impact assessment, including climate, housing, and environmental impact analysis.

Here in San Antonio, the reality is stark.

There is a 20-year difference in city expectancy between Zipcode 78207 and wealthier parts of our city.

This gap is not an accident.

Redlining and structural racism still shapes who thrives and who struggles.

And that's why this council's existing policies matter on page 42 of San Antonio's housing policy framework under its stated policy priority labeled prevent and mitigate displacement.

Its policy priority requires public agencies to conduct a displacement impact assessment for public projects over 15 million and to budget for mitigation.

The essay climate ready adds on page 48 that we must include anti-displacement measures to help vulnerable residents stay in their homes.

So I require I say let's require the independent economic impact study, require the independent race and health equity impact assessment.

San Antonio will not repeat the mistakes of the past, and every child, no matter their zip code, deserves the chance to be healthy and have a thriving future.

Thank you.

Father Richard Aguilar, followed by Azul Root.

Good morning, Mary Mary Jones and members of the council.

This is the third time I've ever spoken before the City Council, and it's all happened in the last month.

But a native of San Antonio, and I'm a Spurs fan since 1973.

And I have to tell you, this is the first time that I've sat in front of the ownership, Sean Elliott or RC Buford.

Nonetheless, I say go Spurs go, but I say no term sheet no.

This would be like the Spurs management drafting a player that the Los Angeles Lakers would recommend, sight unseen.

What we were looking for is impartiality.

What we're looking for is objectivity.

I speak to you as an economics major.

I studied micro and macroeconomics, wrote term papers on cops, on VIA, way back in the 1970s.

So I understand how cities work, and that's why I'm back here in my hometown.

And in my retirement from the Episcopal Church, I don't go to the Spurs games very much because it's just expensive.

I and my guess is that what we're looking at is something even more expensive for the city.

I've said it before.

The ownership of the Golden State Warriors and the ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers paid for their new arenas.

Why can't that happen here?

So I commend you.

I commend you to be impartial.

Note mistakes that other cities are in the middle of.

Tampa with their baseball team, Kansas City, where their baseball team and their football team, even though they won Super Bowls, are threatening to leave and holding the cities hostage.

Y'all represent San Antonio.

You look like San Antonio.

I've said it to you.

I hope you act on behalf of the common good of all of San Antonio.

Thank you.

Azul Root followed by Melissa Hudson.

Good morning.

Thank you.

Thank you all for being here.

When I hear 500 million of dollars, I can't help but to think of my commadre, two jobs they work, one downtown, one on the south side.

And still the rent goes up.

And still she must choose CPS Bill or the groceries, the AC or lasortillas.

She told me.

I don't know how much longer I can keep this up.

That council members is San Antonio.

Not concrete, not contracts, not another arena in the sky.

San Antonio is people, the workers who scrub the floors, who teach the children, who carry the city on their backs, and today is speaking.

We are saying loud and clear, con calma, slow down.

Vote yes to pause, vote yes for a study, not tied to the spurs, vote yes for a real town halls where la voice del pueblo can rise.

Because San Antonio is not for sale.

San Antonio is us and we will remember.

Thank you.

So Melissa Hudson, Aracela Herrera, Thomas Tomas Aguilar, and then Jeff Webster.

So Melissa Hudson.

Just like we're demonstrating at the moment.

Melissa Hudson.

Okay.

Okay, Miss Herada, please.

The most of the people do not come because they come for the re the Mexican influence, the culture, food, the missions.

Because this is the virgin.

This city has the enchantment of the city.

But everybody comes for the tequila.

To drink the margaritas.

Not for the spurs.

They just make everyone that have worked in whatever I have mentioned, they make the salarios.

They promise good salaries.

So I testigo de que no.

I'm a witness that is not so.

I've worked for many years serving banquets in the east side for 15 years.

We were another group of excluded laborales.

Excluded from labor laws.

For 10 years I made 75 hours.

I'm 65.

And I cannot because I would start.

No a la sports.

No say no to the justicia para nosotros los pobres.

No, say no to the Spurs Arena that help the poor do not give money to the rich.

I mucha necessidad in nosotros los trabajadores.

The workers have great need.

They're poor.

There's a lot of poverty.

We leave it every day in the West Side Quarts.

We see so many people arriving with so much better.

And then the most embarrassing thing is that destroyed a museum for an arena.

Where are we gonna respect to respect culture?

Where is this city's pride?

Thank you.

Tomas Aguilar, followed by Jeff Webster, followed by Maria Victoria de la Cruz.

Thank you, Mary Mayor Jones.

Um not that good.

My Spanish is all right, but English is better.

Uh thank you for uh allowing me to speak here.

Um welcome to all the new members, Mayor Jones.

Um I have a few comments.

I'll try not to replicate.

Um I'll start out by saying um I do have an independent economic analysis, a term sheet here.

I would love to share with you all, but I'm gonna give you some highlights right now.

Um, it's not too hard to do to have an independent economic analysis.

Um it's really absurd that we won't even consider it.

In the community, the conversations we have are like we all love the Spurs, but what's the rush?

What are they hiding, right?

Independent economic analysis, not commercials like we've been hearing.

They're basically PR materials and all that, but um, if they weren't hiding anything, we would be doing one because this the stakes are high.

When you look at the projected budget shortfall for the city, and this is for all of you, uh, our leaders, when you look at that, put it in context of that.

In addition to that, the the budget cuts coming from the big beautiful bill, it's an economic uh catastrophe about to happen.

Perhaps that's why this is trying to be rushed through, right?

Just like you're rushing it through like when we created the COVID vaccine, you know, warp speed and all that.

Imagine if we did this to fund our needs, our existing needs and the needs that are coming up that we know.

What if we did it for our budget shortfalls?

The fact that we can't even agree to have an independent analysis, that's problematic, and that's the talk of the town.

Right?

Instead, we have like we're cheerleading for the Spurs, we all have the Spurs.

Um, you know, these studies, they're not really studies, they're commercials.

But imagine if we put all that energy into really looking at all the needs that exist and that are coming up, but we can't even answer whether we would support an economic independent analysis, right?

The the Spurs owner, he won't answer the question.

The playbook is is old, to be quite honest.

So I'm willing to share the Jeff Webster, followed by Maria Victoria de la Cruz, followed by Carolina Calderon, and then Jesse Casaras.

Thank you very much, Mayor.

I'd also like to Carolina's offered me her two minutes, also if you don't mind.

Mayor and Council, my name is Jeff Webster.

I'm the president and CEO of the Greater San Antonio Chamber.

As I've said before, I've also had the opportunity to sit in the very seats you sit in.

And to look at these kind of decisions, I was in this a long time ago.

I was around right after the LMO.

I was involved in the new arena.

There are things that separate those two projects from what you're looking at today.

Yes, we built arenas.

Yes, we built an Alamo Dome.

But what followed those at times and lessons we've learned from is we offered promises.

Well, we promised this will come.

We promise that will come.

The difference is what we're seeing today, what you saw on those slides presented by the city on item five, talks about commitment.

Mr.

Holt, I thank you and the Spurs for offering up not only the 500 million for the arena, but the additional money to invest.

And it's not a promise, it's a commitment.

It's not build it and they will come, it's build it and we will build it.

There is a big difference in that.

In the construction and engineering world, we call that the cost of indecision.

The cost of indecision will drive up the cost.

The cost of indecision will make projects go away.

The cost of indecision will kill economic development.

The earlier slides talked about poverty.

Do you know what cures poverty?

Economic development, jobs, opportunity, do businesses.

I've talked about Mayor, I've talked about before.

I'm a firm believer this will create several thousand jobs in construction.

But this project is just a part of what runs from what I know we've talked about on the west side, the economic development we're trying to create over there, flowing up through downtown to the Alamo, where three quarters of a billion dollars of state money is investing into San Antonio to our river walk where we're seeing businesses close.

To the new arena, all the way over to our friends at the rodeo and the economic development on the east side.

You want to cure poverty?

Help us create economic development.

Thank people that want to come town and put two billion dollars into the community.

We believe in winning.

The Spurs are the winningest franchise around.

Let's get on board with this.

Let's move forward.

There's plenty of transparency and conversation we continue to have.

But mayor, I thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

This is about democracy.

I'm going to close with this, and I said it yesterday at the press conference.

Let's vote.

The vote will land one way or the other.

And I commit to you, Council, whichever way this lands on, we're going to rally behind that decision.

Mayor, if it supports your amendment, we'll be there.

If it goes the other way, we're going to be there.

We recommend support moving forward, but it's time for unity and unification in this committee, not community, but not division.

Division needs to come to an end.

Thank you, Mayor, for your time.

Appreciate it very much.

Maria Victoria de la Cruz, Jesse Casares, Leticia Sanchez will be next.

Ma'am, do you have a group with you?

Okay.

Did the others sign up?

Or would Maria Victoria's giving my place?

Ma'am, what is your name?

It is Davila.

Oh, Elizabeth Davila, number 55.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

Four minutes.

Four minutes, ma'am.

Thank you.

Okay.

Good morning, Madam Mayor and City Council members.

My name is Liz Davila, and I'm a leader with Texas organizing project.

I was born and raised in the West side.

And I know my San Antonio.

My mother used to bring our my siblings along with myself to shop for shoes and clothes.

As I got older when I went to high school in Fox Tech, I also went and bought my senior prom dress and shoes and so on.

So I seen San Antonio change.

Those stores, all those stores are gone.

Many other stores have come and gone.

So my question is, you won three expensive stores, and this project marvel.

How are they going to survive when they're they're going to be located way out of Durango and 37?

Out in the corner.

Oh, they're going to make money.

You know, they're going to be away from commerce and Houston and the river.

They're going to make money.

And another thing.

San Antonio has more than 60 whole beautiful hotels.

And you want another hotel.

And for us to pay, no.

And last.

The last Spurs sold out was January 13, 2023.

And you want another.

Don't.

For us to pay.

Come on.

Good real.

I'm asking you to support the mayors to do an independent analysis.

You are voted here for your people.

You're not voted here.

To be a yes man.

So do for write and listen to your voters.

We need good paying jobs, not minimum wage.

So what's the rush?

Thank you.

Jesse Casadas, Leticia Sanchez, Stanley Vann.

Actually, I'm gonna ask the speakers to literally line up behind the other speakers so we can we can move.

Thank you.

Uh good morning, Mayor.

Good morning, Council.

Thank you again for hearing us out today.

Uh first off, thank you, Mr.

Holt and the Spurs team here that are really giving us a gift, right?

Today is a day in history.

It is not the Spurs versus the city.

It is the city partnering with the Spurs.

Once again, it is not the city versus the Spurs.

It is the city partnering with the Spurs.

What other company is going to come to San Antonio and literally hand us billions of economic development.

Please go ahead and let me know who is.

The San Antonio Spurs, they're our identity.

They are culture, they are community.

They are offering billions to San Antonio's education, development, and growth.

Now I guarantee you that majority of our citizens here today didn't get a hotel to be here today, didn't rent a car here for today.

So they should not be worried about the hot tax.

They should not be worried about the motor vehicle rentals because they are citizens of San Antonio.

Now mind you, they are providing over two billion dollars in investment.

They this is not going to be a part of a non-binding, this is not non-biting, and we need to move forward with this.

This is not a contract.

And I can guarantee you we are we need to start acting like a world-class city.

We have a UNESCO designation.

We are a city of gastronomy, and we need to start providing for that as well.

From our neighbors from the east side to the south side and everywhere in between, I guarantee, and I'm confident as a council that you all will solve uh housing crisis, you all will solve food insecurities because you guys are passionate about our city, as we are as well.

And I guarantee you, with this stadium, it is gonna be a staple for everyone that comes through our new airports, our new terminals.

They are gonna see San Antonio as a gem that we are.

So stop holding San Antonio hostage from opportunity.

Help us move help us move forward for opportunities to come.

Thank you.

Leticia Sanchez, Stanley Van, Alison Kustoff, and Joe Diaz.

Good morning.

Uh my name is Leticia Sanchez, and I'm speaking on behalf of the residents who live in the historic West site boundaries, many of whom can't be here because they do actually have to go to work during meeting times, and who have consistently stated at our meetings their objections to diverting our city resources to subsidize the construction of a new arena.

We can't understand why city staff has spent so much time planning for development in our downtown, which doesn't benefit most of us.

Well, there are so many more serious issues that need to be addressed.

Why does San Antonio continue to make the same economic mistakes over and over at the expense of the residents and our city's economic well-being?

We will soon be experiencing budget cuts and the loss of city staff, yet you're rushing to deal with bil to make a deal with billionaires who can certainly afford to pay for the arena.

Our people have been struggling for years as rents and property appraisals and cost of food and medications increase, and as at the same time, health uh care assistance and food benefits are being taken away.

In the eyes of our community, this city continues to play by the good old boy system, where the people with money, developers and big business owners tell the people with power, city staff and certain council members what they want, while so many residents continue to earn low wages requiring them to work more than one job just to get by.

We've consistently asked that you take the time to research other similar projects, and we support the mayor's request for an independent economic impact study.

If you don't do this, that will confirm that this city is run by the people with money and power, and that those of us with little wealth and power are of no concern to you.

Thank you for your time.

Stanley Van, Alison Custoff, Joe Diaz, and then Cops Metro, Father Drennan.

Yes, good morning.

I am a senior citizen, a taxpayer, and a voter in San Antonio.

And I'm also a San Antonio Spurs fan.

This is the first time that I've set foot in this chamber.

And judging by the attendance here today, I would say this is probably atypical.

As a Spurs fan, I trust that the Spurs will be an excellent partner in the execution of Project Marvel, which I support.

But I also want to say that as a taxpayer, I think that an independent cost benefit analysis should be done.

And I think that as you, our city council, uh elected by people like me.

You need to stop and consider the fact that we need to verify the cost benefits of this project because a lot of people are going to be paying for them for years to come.

I think we should trust, but I think we should also verify.

Thank you.

Mayor, Council members, thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

I'm Ali Kustoff, and I'm in here in strong support of approving the term sheet for the Project Marvel and the Spurs New Arena.

For me, like so many San Antans, the Spurs are more than just a team.

They represent family memories, community pride, and the very best of our city's values.

Teamwork, resilience, and excellence.

The Spurs have given so much to San Antonio, and this project is a chance for us to build on the legacy together.

We often say education is the best investment we can make, not because classrooms pay dividends themselves, but because they open doors to opportunity and growth.

This arena is the same, an investment in San Antonio's future prosperity.

And the numbers show it's also a great deal for the city.

The Spurs are committing over two billion dollars to this project, even covering the cost of overruns.

And importantly, no general funds or local tax dollars will be spent on the arena.

This is a true public-private partnership, one that drives economic growth without burdening taxpayers.

Right now, cities like New Orleans are winning major conventions and events that could and should be here.

San Antonio is equally unique, equally easy to reach, and one of the best host cities in the nation.

San Antonio can compete, but only if we invest boldly.

This project will create a vibrant destination district that enhances everyday life for residents, attract visitors, and fuels long-term economic activity.

We must have facilities and experiences that match our reputation.

San Antonio stands at a crossroads.

I urge you to approve this term sheet so we don't risk falling behind, but instead seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity.

Let's give ourselves the opportunity to do more of what we are really good at, being great hosts.

Let's invest in this arena in our Spurs and in San Antonio's future.

Thank you.

Joe Diaz.

Is Joe Diaz here?

Okay.

Father Drennan with Cops Metro.

And then Brett Finley, Stephanie Reyes, and Jenny Carnes.

Thank you, Mayor.

We uh do have four people signed up to speak.

Uh, myself, uh Father Dennis Schaefer, Lupita Valdez, and uh Pastor Ricky Georgetown, and we'll be speaking as a group.

Go ahead, Father.

My name is Lupita Valdez.

I'm a parishioner of Sicarheart Church and a little Cops Metro.

I'm tired of lie that was not impact the general fund of the city.

Terrorist money is public money, property tax money that is captured often for luxury development.

It's money that could go to the general fund.

I know because I live in the terrace on the west side on the Sitco 782 Sura 7.

Well, people make only $19,000 a year.

We want more money in the general fund.

Don't tell us that this arena will not impact the general fund.

It will.

And I tell you, I don't see revitalization in the uh where the church is.

All I see is gentrification.

My congregation now travels from all over Bear County.

Now I am a newcomer here, but I'm shocked.

I'm literally shocked at how this process has transpired.

And the question I have is how many public meetings have each of you had with your people to digest this term sheet.

Is this really how San Antonio does politics?

In the dark, in the back room.

Russian voice to push a deal through.

Again, I'm Father Jimmy Drennan, the pastor of St.

Margaret Mary, and uh with Cops Metro.

I want to lift up the Judeo-Christian uh understanding of Jeremiah 29, which reminds us that a city is built up not in its buildings, but in its people.

And we have as an organization continued to work with the city council and the city to lift up each and every working class family and each and every person in our city.

We believe that economic development begins and ends with our people.

Cops Metro Alliance, in its very origin, uh came up against some of the most unconscionable actions by city council and city leadership, denying representation of our people on the city council, and uh completely omitting our communities from access to services that would better our communities.

Born from that, Cops Metro has led the city of San Antonio as the conscience of our city to make sure that we no longer do the unconscionable, but we continue to strive forward.

We are an organization that says yes.

We are an organization that says yes, we are not a no organization.

We say yes to economic development, we say yes to just wages, we say yes to housing that is affordable, we say yes to job training that lifts people up and out of poverty.

We say yes over and over to the city of San Antonio and to our people.

And so we are asking all of you to hear us very clearly.

What the mayor is recommending is not stopping anything from happening.

It is instead saying yes to transparency, yes to an independent economic analysis that will keep our people in the know, that will educate and then allow our people to engage in meaningful dialogue with you, our leaders.

We want to be able to talk to you, and we want to know that you represent the citizens of San Antonio, our needs, our hopes, our aspirations, our wants, and that you will bring that to this chamber.

Thank you very much.

Brett Finley, Stephanie Reyes, Jenny Carnes, Derek Fox, and then Adam Eisenhower.

Good morning, Mayor and members of San Santa City Council.

My name is Brett Finlay.

I'm the president CEO of the Metro SA Chamber.

We're here to speak in full support of the negotiated term agreement here in front of you today.

Our organization, which is comprised of hundreds of business uh businesses across San Antonio, most of them locally owned and operated, and within those are tens of thousands of employees.

Our board has had 10 long months to look at this information.

We have asked the tough questions, we've been critical at times.

Where's the money coming from?

How is it going to be funded?

What's the timeline?

At every checkpoint, every benchmark along the way, they have met our expectations.

And in fact, this term sheet here today, which has been negotiated in great faith, has met every one of those expectations to the infinite degree.

Look, this is not rocket science.

You're not having to put a blindfold on and take a leap of faith.

You all have the requisite information in front of you to make a smart strategic decision that's in the best interest of the City of San Antonio and its taxpayers for the next at least 30 years.

But this is just beyond the game of basketball.

This term sheet, it means a great deal to our community.

It protects the taxpayers, $2 billion worth of private investment.

It's unheard of across the NBA landscape.

$75 million in a community benefits agreement, also unheard of here for the City of San Antonio.

If you want cost coverages on overruns, they've got that too.

And let's put this in simple terms with their arch rival and the Southwest Division of the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

They just approve a 95% publicly funded agreement.

I think I take this one in front of you today.

But it's more than just numbers on a term sheet.

This is about the City of San Antonio's identity.

The same characteristics that the San Antonio Spurs have had over the last 50 years, they're interwoven into our city's DNA.

They are competitive yet humble.

They will kick your ass on the court, but then they'll just say nothing off the court, right?

This is what this deal is about.

We cannot afford to miss our moment here today.

Running that risk, we may lose that inevitably forever.

Please, to use a basketball term, we have to shoot our shot, and you gotta shoot the score, folks.

And San Antonio stands to score big over the next 30 years and beyond.

Please move this forward today and let the voters decide on November 4th.

Thank you so much.

Stephanie Reyes, Jenny Carnes, Derek Fox, Adam Eisenhower, Sandra Martinez.

Good morning, Mayor, City Council members.

My name is Stephanie Reyes Proud, President and CEO for the Real Estate Council.

You heard quite a bit about the long-term economic benefits of this project.

So I want to talk today about the immediate local impact.

And by that I mean the thousands of jobs that are going to go into that are going to be created here locally in San Antonio just to make a project like this come to life.

A project of this scale involves all corners of our industry, architects, builders, trades, suppliers, developers, all of those are well-paying jobs that help San Antonians support their families and support the businesses in our community.

And that impact begins when we break ground, some beforehand.

But timing matters.

Any delay will only increase the cost of construction and make a project like this even more challenging to deliver on budget.

I also want to let you guys know if you pass this term sheet, it will give the voters the information they need when they hit the polls in November and they can make an informed decision.

And while it has not been said outright, the reality is if we do not move forward, we are at risk of losing the Spurs.

There are other communities ready to roll the red carpet out for them.

We believe this is a fair deal and that there is enough information to move forward, and we urge you to pass the term sheet today.

Thank you very much.

Jenny Carnes, Derek Fox, Adam Eisenhower, Sandra Martinez, Matthew Meza.

Good morning.

Looks like my shot clock has started.

Um thanks to Brett for that great sports lingo he used.

Um Mayor Jones, members of City Council, City Leadership, thank you for having me back today.

As a reminder, I'm Jenny Carnes, president and CEO of San Antonio Sports, your 41 year old nonprofit sports commission, whose mission is to transform this community through the power of sport with a vision of healthy kids and families, places to play, and events that impact.

And I stand here proudly with my colleagues, members of our board of directors in support of agenda item number five, but to reiterate how strongly we support the entire San Antonio Sports and Entertainment District.

As you've heard many others say the cost of indecision will only cost our city more and put us further behind our competition, not only in the state of Texas, but across the country.

So I would like to thank you all for being here and investing your time and passion so much.

Thank you.

Yeah, ready?

Mayor Jones and Council members, thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

I'm Derek Fox, and I've served as the president and CEO of the Valero Alamo Bowl and worked in District 2 since 1992.

In that role, I have the pleasure of serving as an ambassador for San Antonio, and I can tell you firsthand great cities have great downtowns.

The proposed sports and entertainment district, anchored by a new Spurs Arena, a renovated Alamo Dome, and an expanded convention center will energize our downtown and make San Antonio even stronger and more competitive on a national landscape.

When I talk to leaders across the country, they're envious of what San Antonio has to offer, and they recognize how much better positioned we'll be with these additional assets.

That alignment is rare.

And the Spurs two billion dollar comp commitment makes this one of the strongest arresent proposals in the nation.

This is a transformational opportunity.

Thank you.

Adam Eisenhower, Sandra Martinez, Matthew Meza, Jasmine Hidetta.

Good morning.

My son turned 17 this November.

Soon he will likely leave San Antonio to attend a university and pursue a degree.

One of the many questions that I've had on my mind over the past nearly 17 years is will San Antonio be a place he can call home again?

Not just a place where he can live, but where he can thrive, where there are abundant opportunities for him and for his generation to be proud to call this city home.

Will we stay vibrant?

Will we be competitive with the cities of Texas, our nation, and our globe?

These are the questions that extend well beyond my son.

They extend to every child living here today about their future.

To me, this isn't about an arena or a district, but about our city.

It is a commitment to economic growth for our city.

Sure, this means more conventions.

It means more concerts and hopefully some national attention.

Yeah, there's a revenue aspect to this, but the real return goes far deeper.

It is I'm so sorry, lost my spot.

It goes far, it goes far deeper.

It's it's the company that moves here because somebody visited.

It's the small corporate or the small business that start because we are thriving.

It is the college graduates and our young kids returning back to San Antonio because it is vibrant, because they have opportunity compared to going somewhere else.

Um I've got 30 seconds, I'll be quick, but I'll give you a story.

My wife came here for an interview about 23 years ago.

She was surprised to learn that the Alamo is here.

No one had to tell her where the Spurs were from.

In a sense, they are a modern day Alamo.

It is one of the reasons we are remembered and remembered all around the world.

And so for that reason, I encourage the city council to move forward and authorize our city manager to approve this term sheet or enter into this term sheet.

Thank you.

Sandra Martinez.

Hi, Mayor.

Um, Sandra Martinez and Matthew Mesa.

We're granting our time to Leticia Vela.

I'm also on the list as well, Mayor.

Number 40, yes.

Go ahead.

And I do need uh this put on the screen, please.

Yes.

How many minutes do I have, Mayor?

You have six.

Okay, thank you.

Hi.

Um I am here to support the mayor's request for item number four.

I have made this known to my city council representative in D7, Representative Gavito.

I have emailed her my concerns, and I have told her that I do not agree with her support for pushing this item, this Spurs arena through today.

I sent that on August 11th.

I called, I emailed after that, and finally, I have a meeting on August.

We have we have a meeting on August 25th, 14 days later.

Um I have brought you a newspaper picture of um of the Woods Arena.

This is a part I don't understand.

Why are the Spurs approving this part of the plan?

It just doesn't make any sense to me.

But this is from 2013.

On 11, 12, 13, the KWEX Channel 41 building fell.

That was at the corner of market and um St.

Mary's.

And to no avail.

None of the entities were able to help us, the Conservation Society, the City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation.

Now I see that you do want to keep this.

But I want to alert you, you know, we've been talking a lot about economics, but I'm talking about historic preservation because I was part of that group that tried to save that key WEX Channel 41 building.

We were told it didn't matter, it wasn't really important, it didn't have that's what we're always told when it's something with our culture.

It didn't have that's what we're always told when it's something with our culture.

But it fell, and I don't want that to happen again at Hemisphere.

And I'm not talking about the woods building.

I'm talking about Plaza Mexico, UNAM San Antonio, and the Mexican Cultural Institute of San Antonio.

Those are three properties that the City of San Antonio owns and has housed those entities for years.

Those three places have been in continuous use.

And what I see by the sports and entertainment district plan is that it's gonna be leveled because all you want to do is build.

She would save those articles.

So that's an article my mom saved.

Sometimes she would write Leticia on it so that I could have it.

But that's an article that she saved for me, and those articles came out one after another when KWEX fell.

They were talking about the lack of preservation.

And we're not talking about any of those things because we're trying to push this through now.

My mom used to call people like that eager beavers.

So for you eager beavers that need to vote today and get this done.

Please review this letter and know that if you decide to touch these buildings in any kind of way, you will go ahead and be name be known as the council who destroyed the last piece of Mexican American culture in the downtown area of San Antonio.

So that's what I came for today to tell you that, and to tell you that you really need to look at all aspects of this project, and you need to cut listen to your constituents.

We have that meeting on the 25th.

I don't know what good it's gonna do because we're trying to vote for it.

Those eager beavers are trying to vote for it today.

So, you know, when we say no Project Marvel, no Project Marvel under this these conditions that you set up, this lack of transparency, this lack of feedback from your constituents, this decision to push through right now, that's what we're saying no to.

Thank you, council, and I've got to say thank you, Mayor.

In all the time I've been doing this work, I've never had a mayor who stood up for us.

Thank you.

Jasmine Herreta, Kayla Miranda, Nadia Miranda Colgrove, followed by Fray Reyes.

Hello.

Um I'm gonna give Luciana Santibanis my time.

Should I speak?

Number 29.

Go ahead, go ahead.

Yep.

Four minutes.

Thank you.

Um morning.

I'm here today to support our mayor's call to pause further negotiations for Project Marvel.

Thank you, Mayor, for acknowledging the federal cuts that for those of us who work in inner city and historically red line and racially dated communities, we are already witnessing.

In fact, I'll remind the council that as soon as Donald J.

Trump took office, the city began to suffer substantial loss of federal employees.

A majority of whom were civilian veterans.

This action caused such concern that our very own mayor at the time issued a memo on March 6th stating, and I quote, while we know that non-military federal employees comprise a considerable portion of our local workforce, an even greater portion of our region's community is being impacted by the downstream disruption of critical services and funding.

This memo was a call to city government to help federal employees find new jobs.

My question to the council and to those federal employees, including the dozens of this city's community health promotoras, WIC, and immunization workers who have been recently fired, if not soon to be fired, due to the expected cuts of CDBG monies.

Will the service industry and construction sector jobs being offered here today be the kind of jobs that pay you the honorable wages and comparable benefits like the ones you recently lost?

For the record, these promotoras are passionate, experienced, educated, community experts, persons with lived expertise rooted in the community that raised them, who know the needs of this community better than many people in this room.

Has there been a substantial effort to replace the loss of the jobs that our city has experienced since these layoffs in mass have started taking place?

I also want to mention that the last time we heard central employees speak so eloquently in support of this district.

I've met and spoken to central employees in the past who were complaining of unpaid overtime and lack of worker protections for the arduous work that they perform.

What will the accountability mechanisms for worker protections and livable wage guarantees be for existing and future workforces?

As a young working class student myself, I remember being hired by a DECO, a temporary agency that still exists today that deployed us to work at the Henry B.

Gonzalez Center, the Marriott, including the ATT Center.

Um, and it was only an average of 725 that I earned, but it was the long shifts that helped me make up for the low wages.

I think back and question why I never seemed to get hired directly by the companies themselves.

And it was only after being consistently denied a job in the downtown area that I sought the employment of these temp agencies which hired me on the spot.

I say all this to remind us that there continues to be workplace and hiring bias and discrimination in our local hotel and service industries.

These companies continue to hire temporary seasonal part-time workers to meet the growing demand of tourism in our city.

While I have a deep respect and gratitude for those workers and their service, those jobs are not the jobs that will lift our families out of poverty.

Please vote no to this term sheet.

And thank you, Mayor, for um all that you're doing for us.

Kayla Miranda, Nadia Miranda Colgrove, Fray Reyes, Steve Versteig.

Hello.

My name is Kayla Miranda, and I'm a housing justice organizer on the west side of San Antonio.

The first thing I want to say is that I don't need this sports entertainment district to be proud of my city and my downtown.

All I have to do is drive across the Guadalupe Bridge.

The historic West Side, our beautiful community, and our beautiful culture.

Everybody that I know that visits San Antonio as a tourist loves San Antonio because we don't have all the skyscrapers downtown.

And we have preserved our culture in our history.

We don't need a stadium for that.

While I do love the Spurs, they can purchase their own stadium.

Also on the sheets I saw, I had a problem with the livable wage for full-time employees.

We all know that arena workers, the majority, are not full-time employees.

Where's the guarantee for them?

The majority of those short-term jobs are hired by camp agencies that pay eight to twelve dollars an hour.

Right now, a livable wage is 25 dollars, but our federal minimum wage is 725.

I find it disgusting that people actually believe by giving money to the rich that the poor will be brought up with them instead of giving us livable wages, good health care, good public school system, stop defunding the things that we need, and we won't have a problem earning our own incomes.

I do not support item five.

Thank you.

Nadia Miranda Colgrove, Fray Reyes, City University Luis Rodriguez.

So Nadia Mayor was going to give me my time to me, so okay.

And there's a gentleman, Frey Xavier Reyes on the list.

Um he just had a health issue, so you have to go get some water and air.

Oh, okay.

And then Alena Guajardo is number one or something.

80 82.

Thank you.

Four minutes.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning, Mayor Council, and the city manager.

Well, there are many power dynamics happening right now.

The first one is I don't get to share my my vote or my voice before November, and you get to vote today.

The second one for me is knowledge is power.

You will always remember your campaigns, the time, and your personal energy that you put in to persuade your voters that you were the best candidate.

You did websites, door hangers, candidate forums, you blocked walked.

So let me fast forward to today.

For those of you ready to vote on this term sheet, I ask first.

The 29-page economic analysis.

Did you post that to your constituents?

It's on the website, that's how I found it.

Only 29 pages.

And I went looking at it.

And my yellow pen was going like crazy.

It's like there's so many questions.

And I couldn't, stunned still, that there was not an independent analysis.

It didn't even go out to bid.

The June 7th, your June 7th B session, that you put that out to your constituents.

It's on the website.

And I found that a very interesting document.

And still, even today in the presentation, there has never been anything that I've read or heard about the construction timeline for this whole project.

Page 13 of the B session says it will be between one to 16 years to complete the whole footprint.

Think about that.

I could have a child go to pre-K and graduate, and we're still building.

And everyone in this room, add your age plus 16 years.

That's when it may be built out.

The term sheet that you have that you got Monday, let's say, was that put out on the website?

It's only like seven or eight pages.

Did you put it out to your constituents?

Well, mine didn't.

And she goes on Facebook, email, and TV saying that this is my best deal.

That's a power grab right there.

Teach me.

Don't tell me.

The Express News did a breakdown of your of the term sheet.

And there it says now the construction timeline is 12 years.

Again, age plus 12.

That's how old you may be when this thing is totally completed.

For those of you asking questions in one public engagement, thank you.

Thank you.

My November vote is no.

And let me tell everyone here that for the Spurs.

I love the Spurs.

I will cheer you in my heart and in my home because I cannot afford a ticket.

But my no vote is not voting no for the Spurs.

It's because this process has been compromised for me.

My councilwoman has not asked myself, my neighbors, or her constituency.

Let's have a public discourse.

Not to persuade me, but to ask what are my questions, my concerns, and even praises.

So I love the Spurs.

Each one of you, I've told you my vote is no.

Each one of you in your seats in your constituency, you have no votes right now.

So when the vote comes in November, if there's even one additional no vote, what is gonna happen?

So I asked you before you vote right now, an examination of conscience to say, what time and energy have I done to my constituency to move a no to a yes?

Thank you.

Fray Reyes, are you back in the room?

Okay.

Steve Versteig, Luis Rodriguez, Alex Cruz.

You might see a little bit of resurgence in the area right around the stadium, but it comes at a cost to less commerce in the outlying area, which is exactly what we'd expect, says Char John Charles Bradbury, president of North American Association of Sports Economists.

He says this is just a transfer of wealth within the community.

So what will this mean to district one?

What will they lose while under construction?

We know it won't benefit D2.

How will this benefit District 5?

How will this benefit District 6?

How will this benefit District 7?

How will this benefit District 9?

We don't just need an independent analysis, we need a comprehensive one.

This is an entertainment district, period.

If more people go downtown and eat and shop before and after games, like they say, like they say they're gonna do now when that what they don't do on East Houston Street, that means D4 local businesses are gonna go out of business.

That means D8 local restaurants go out of business.

When the Spurs spend 90 million on development downtown, how many local businesses go under?

How many people are on the clock and at work today speaking in favor?

How many people are against that are instead at their low income job today?

No Project Marble means don't do it the way you've been doing this.

Don't ask us what we think of backdoor deals after they are done.

Don't make us regret four year terms this early.

Please hold your campaign promises of listening to constituents and fiscal conservatism.

World class means what others want, not what we want.

Please vote for item four.

Thank you.

Luis Rodriguez, Alex Cruz, Patrick Stollmeyer, Gemma Kennedy.

Mayor, I have Jessica Palacios with me.

56.

Okay, thank you.

Hi, good morning, Mayor Jones and Council members.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comment today.

I want to begin by recognizing the importance of the thoughtful planning done by city staff, this body, and many others when it comes to planning projects like the Sports and Entertainment District.

On behalf of our over 900 members at the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, many of them with small local and women-owned businesses who tell us how important it is for the city to foster an environment where growth and innovation are possible.

We appreciate the leadership of this council in engaging in these important conversations and working towards solutions that serve the best interests of San Antonians.

The Spurs are a part of the culture and fabric of San Antonio.

Moving forward with this project is more than just basketball, it's about opportunity.

As other speakers have said, San Antonio should not be held hostage from opportunities that bring both pride and prosperity to our community.

Timely action ensures voters have the information they need in November and businesses can plan with confidence.

We urge you to continue leading with vision and ensuring that projects of this skill not only bring entertainment and civic pride, but also deliver real and tangible benefits to the small businesses and families that are the backbone to the economy of San Antonio.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And mayor and city council, we I want to thank you on behalf of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

I want to remind you, we're the first Hispanic Chamber of Commerce established in 1929, and we're the chamber that advocates on small businesses.

I want to thank the Spurs Sports and Entertainment for being a great steward in San Antonio, but most importantly to the city of San Antonio, even Bear County for listening to our small business members because they asked to be carved out a portion for this project to help small business is being carved out.

So this is not just good for San Antonio, this is tremendous for the 90% of our small businesses in San Antonio.

This is a go small business go for San Antonio, Texas.

Thank you.

Alex Cruz.

Okay.

Patrick Stollmeyer.

Morning, folks.

My name is Patrick Stollmeyer.

I'm managing member of Terrestrial Outer Space.

I'm also an attorney.

I'm trial attorney.

We need a solution.

Not all this fighting.

My family brings a solution.

We have an academic pedigree from MIT.

We know what we're doing.

We use that to create businesses and economic development.

Ask what we did in 2005.

Ask what you did in 2016.

Specifically, I wrote the plans for the Air Force to get the future military futures command.

It was diverted to Austin and it is 30 billion dollars.

I wrote the plan.

What we bring is a partnership and a team relationship with the Spurs family, my family and their family, both in the private sector.

You're going to get more than one private sector company.

We're going to transform all of downtown into an innovation park.

And part of that is going to be in the hemisphere.

So we're going to need space in there for the following.

Or if you vote today for the term sheet, you lose us.

That's why I am focusing on supporting number four.

We'll have a collegiate alliance as the anchor, not an arena.

We'll have the participation internet that I've developed.

We'll have remote remote virtual streaming video production studios, brand new technology that's turning Hollywood on its toes.

Quantum computing, quantum communication.

My family's probably the only people in San Antonio that knows where that is in San Antonio.

We can create one of the largest labs in the world.

It's right in our grasp.

Because we know how to do it, we know what we're looking for.

Advanced manufacturing assembly of wireless network system artificial intelligence enabled internet of everything for terrestrial to outer space applications and uses.

Thank you, sir.

You can submit the rest of your comments for the record.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

And share it all.

Gemma Kennedy, Josh Pollock, Philip Adcock.

Hi.

I'm Susan Strong and Jim McKennedy and Molly are going to cede their time to me.

Number 87.

80 and 87.

Number 87.

Okay, thank you.

Six minutes.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

And I want to express my support and our support for your proposal to have a pause to get an independent economic analysis and to engage in real public engagement, which we have not yet had.

And I have a I have slides.

Here we go.

Okay, so this is something that I have not seen anywhere, and I think it's really important.

This is the cost per capita of this project for San Antonio adults and children.

So if you take the 489 million and you take the divide by the population of San Antonio, it's 341 dollars for every adult and child in San Antonio just to pay the city's cost.

And that's without interest on the bonds over 30 years.

If you add in the county, it's 155.

If you add in the cost of land, which we still have no idea apparently where that's coming from or how much it is, it's another 41.

The cost of the infrastructure bond, 174.

We get to 711 plus the interest.

This is why this needs our due diligence and meaningful city input.

And I know what you guys are gonna say, you supporters are all gonna say, well, you know, you didn't drive a rental car here today.

But you know what?

I did do, I did pay property taxes, I do pay sales taxes, and some of that went to the World Heritage Office, some of that went to aquifer protection, some of that went to sports fields, and a lot of that went to cops and firemen who are providing protection in the tours.

And that is all coming out of the general fund, and that could all be paid by different pieces of this tourist taxes that you guys are gonna spend on this, and we need to know how much that is, and we need to know where it's going and how much is the total cost to people in the city.

Slide two.

So 711 per capita.

I know you guys can't actually see this, but that's actually a lot.

That's a lot more than any of the recent stadiums, with the exception of Oklahoma City, which is 100%.

So all of the public-private splits are less than what we are paying per capita.

They're also less than what we're paying as a percentage of the public subsidy as a percentage of the total cost, and they're less on other metrics like team value and the team investment in the stadium cost.

So, you know what would help us figure out whether we're getting a good deal?

An independent economic analysis, which we do not have.

So, slide three.

So, again, we do not know the actual cost to residents because we don't know yet what we're gonna pay to buy that land or where that money is gonna come from.

Haven't seen anything about that in any of the presentations.

Uh, we don't know what the benefits are because there's been no independent analysis.

Um, but we do know that even under the Spurs own analysis by Stone and the CSL projections, the increases in tax revenues are not even close to the tax expenditures for this project.

Not even close.

So aside from the intangibles, and I get it, for most of you, you would sell your own house to fund the stadium.

And that's true of a lot of people in this city.

And that's fine.

But what we're really looking out here at here is that the benefit to the city is from this so-called billion dollar investment.

That's what we need.

That's what would distinguish this from the Fost Center, right?

If we don't get that, all we have is slide three, next slide.

Another big white elephant, just like the other two that we already have, right?

And so what we know is studies don't show that arenas produce any economic growth.

The CSL study assumed that this development would happen.

They did no market study at all.

They say that.

Next slide, please.

What do we have in the way of a Spurs guarantee really?

What does this guarantee mean?

Because you know, there were promises made about the frost center.

There were promises made about bringing Major League Soccer to the Toyota Center after the city bailed out that stadium.

And you know, none of that came true.

And ultimately the city said, Oh well, you know, too bad.

I'm sorry, you know, major league soccer did us a bad one.

And so here, Spurs, get your five million dollars back that you were gonna pay us if you didn't do it.

If you didn't bring Major League Soccer to the city, when the county forgave that debt because situations had changed.

So, what's gonna happen here?

Potentially, and I'm not saying the Spurs are acting in bad faith.

I'm sure they want to do a billion dollar development, but what do they have to pay really if they don't?

So if you look at what the bond rate is on 500 million dollars of assessed value increase, that's only 2.7 million dollars in additional city tax revenue.

Is that the guaranteed revenue amount?

We don't know.

We don't, you know, we haven't seen the numbers, but if it is, that's not very much money.

If they can walk away and pay 2.7 million dollars a year to avoid investing, you know, in a down market, you know, that they may do that because no one wants and we don't want them to build empty office space either or vacant residential, and they sure don't want to do it.

So, is this the only penalty?

We need to know what is gonna happen if this development doesn't happen.

So, next so you know look you need to look very closely at the financing addendum and when they can get out of this.

I can submit the rest of your comments for the record, thank you.

Thank you.

Josh Pollock, Philip Adcock, Lupita Valdez.

Oh, yeah.

Hi, my name is Josh Pollock.

I uh resident of District One.

I've grew up in San Antonio, have lived in Austin, New York, um, and done work across the country as a developer.

I um have been at a lot of contentious city council meetings trying to articulate a point that's not necessarily desired by certain subsections.

And I so and I mayor specifically wanted to talk about your item four.

When you go into negotiation as a developer, you know you're gonna get people that don't like aspects of what you're gonna do because they haven't been at the table for all the behind-the-scene meetings that do happen that you've been a part of.

Your public comments have said repeatedly that you want to get a deal done with the Spurs, and I think as a not as someone that hasn't been able to see all of those comments, or you haven't offered other than an ask for more time and a delay is what would be a good outcome for you, what you think would be a winning arrangement.

You referenced revenue sharing.

I I think in an interview with um someone from the current, that's the most that I've seen.

I think painting a solution to what you think could be I I think painting something that you think would be a good deal is as a citizen, something that I would really respect and appreciate on behalf of people that say, hey, we don't, you know, this has been rushed.

Well, I it seems like there's been a lot of conversation behind the scenes that haven't been rushed that a lot of people have been privy to, but I think as a leader, and you're certainly trying to make a bold impact, and I respect that.

I think having something more than we need more time is something the citizens deserve.

Appreciate your uh and I appreciate where it's coming from.

So thanks.

Philip Adcock, Lupita Valdez, Chris Holden, Jody Bailey Newman.

Hello, council.

Uh it was really interesting today to see your consent agenda.

Uh, there was one member of a council, I wasn't sure who knew about consent because I saw him putting his hands on our mayor at the town hall the other day, putting his hands and pushing our arms down, and I believe he should be removed from the dais for that.

Um it's also it's also interesting to me to see central workers here being allowed to be here during their work time when I worked last year and was fired for attending council meetings and other meetings fighting against deals, and they're allowed to be here today.

So that's another interesting thing to me the day.

Uh I'm in full support of item four and getting more information before any deal is done.

I really used to love the Spurs, and now all I think about is the sour taste to leave in my mouth.

So now from now on, I'll call them the San Antonio Sours, because that's how they make me feel.

Um let's see.

I can't even speak to my own city council member because she voted for me to be removed as a uh constituent, and when I have spoken to her, she's been nothing but callous and cold.

So I don't believe that she represents me or anybody in district one fully except corporate interests.

Uh let's see.

Me and my neighbors had our homes erased.

This was again on a non-binding term sheet, just like this one, and nothing changed except to benefit the missions.

Last time, the same as will happen with the Spurs for this one.

Uh we have parasites like uh Holt and Frost and DeBerry in our city who are doing everything they can to take from us and not benefiting the city at all, just stealing from us.

This deal has a bust of the Achilles, a ruptured elbow, and a bum knee.

We wouldn't draft this if it was a player, but yeah, they want us to sign this term sheet.

Uh what we I want to see, I and but this is if this is the way it works, I have a proposal for you guys as well.

I would like 700 million dollars for a plaque, a state-of-the-art plaque downtown.

I did my own independent study, and it'll earn 68 trillion dollars in the next 48 minutes.

I promise if you vote for this, I'll submit the term sheet next month.

That's how this works, right?

This is how government is done here in San Antonio.

Thank you.

Chris Holden, Jody Bailey Newman, Bill Brendell.

It was my mistake, Lupita Valdez had already spoken.

Chris Holden, Jody Bailey Newman.

Okay.

Jody Bailey Newman, Bill Brendell, George Cisnetos.

I know.

I have to look at notes these days because I have brain fog.

Um I'm Jody Bailey Newman.

And I was just back there hearing jock jams in my head.

You know, it didn't though.

Um hi, Mayor Jones.

Hi, council, thanks for listening to me.

Um, I'm gonna give you my stats.

Usually I'm here talking about local independent small business.

Y'all are probably tired of me talking about that.

But actually, I'm here today just as myself.

Um representing my family to talk about the Spurs arena.

Um, I own a few bars in town.

And two decades I've lived in South Town.

I live within two blocks of the arena site.

I can see it, I can hear the ITC falling at 7 o'clock in the morning.

I work just a few blocks further, and both my children were born and raised in downtown San Antonio.

I live next door to my mom.

She's 81 years old.

She also lives in South Town.

Her claim to fame is that she spotted the coyote up on the tower when they were filming the um Spurs game intro, and she spotted it before anybody else.

That's her claim to fame.

Uh, my husband and I are Spurs season ticket holders.

I've gone honking more times than you can imagine for the Spurs, including when we drafted Wemby.

I am pro-arena.

I think the Spurs being downtown is a gimme.

I mean, I think we all want them here.

But we need our community to vote, not just one time, but twice in favor of this project.

Twice.

I do have feedback and I have concerns about that.

I feel like this project, this initiative to date has not really been about community.

And I don't see how we get there in November without it.

Is there somebody else I would like to give you time?

Did you have more or um no?

I mean, I just think uh I'd like to see more community feedback.

Thank you.

All right.

Thanks.

Bill Brendell, George Cisneros, Michelle Madsen.

Thank you, Mayor and Council.

On behalf of uh tourism industry of 150,000 people in our community, uh, and on behalf of the San Antonio Visitor Alliance.

Um, I want to uh I'm here to voice strong support for the proposed sports and entertainment district in downtown San Antonio, and in favor of passing item five.

One of the most visible and committed corporate citizens in our community is ready to invest two billion dollars into the heart of our city.

This is more than just a development.

It's a transformative opportunity to boost economic growth, expand entertainment and cultural offerings, and revitalize a key area of downtown.

And importantly, it will benefit both residents and visitors alike.

With San Antonio's rich cultural heritage and passionate sports community, this district, combining family-friendly space, live music, sports, convention facilities, and more, will position our city as a national leader for events, innovation, and tourism.

Other cities in our country have shown that projects like this become economic engines and community landmarks.

San Antonio should expect no less.

Good jobs, stronger tourism revenue, and fresh opportunities for local artists, entrepreneurs, and small businesses.

This investment will be funded through restricted use, occupancy tax dollars, and private capital, a smart and sustainable approach that delivers value without placing a burden on our citizens.

And finally, we are especially encouraged by the inclusive vision behind the project.

We applaud your leadership and collaboration, and we are proud to support uh the term sheet being passed in item five.

Thank you very much.

Please do not delay George Cisnetos.

Michelle Madsen, Ariana Floyd, Robert Shelby.

Good morning, Mayor and Council.

My name is Michelle Madsen.

I'm the president and CEO of the San Antonio Hotel and Lodging Association.

Our nearly 300 members stand in strong support for the advancement of the sports and entertainment district and would ask you to move forward today with a positive vote to execute this extremely fair and non-binding term sheet with the San Antonio Spurs.

As a cornerstone industry, San Antonio's continued growth and economic strength are fundamentally linked to our ability to track new visitors.

And we are certain that the Spurs Arena, alongside the expansion of our convention facilities and an updated and enhanced Alamo Dome, will generate millions in economic impact that will provide that will ripple out into every facet of our community.

We believe additional analysis of the district can be done in conjunction with an agreed-upon term sheet, and that the interruption of forward motion delays our ability to bid on and secure meetings and events that help pay for the livelihood of one in eight San Antonio citizens.

Preliminary pace reports already show a loss of market share for years when Austin, Dallas, and Houston reopened their newly renovated or expanded convention centers.

Seizing this moment to make a timely investment in the project is essential to realizing this vision before we lose additional market share to other cities that are making improvements to their visitor offerings.

If we do not begin this investment in our future now, we'll be starting from a larger deficit and doing a disservice to the dedicated hospitality workforce that represents our city to millions of visitors every year.

This is a complicated project, and we applaud the work of the city manager and city staff for their thorough and thoughtful planning, and we believe the information and structure both they and the Spurs have presented creates the maximum return on investment for our workforce and our residents through private investment and the clever application of very restricted visitor dollars.

The Spurs are a critical and beloved part of our hospitality community, and on behalf of our members, I urge you to move forward with the negotiated term sheet so that we can start work now to ensure our city remains a thriving destination for decades to come.

Thank you.

Ariana Floyd, Robert Shelby, Jim, James Morty.

Thank you, Mayor and Council members.

I'm here on behalf of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center as part of the Buena Gente.

I could wax poetically about the hard facts of this case from the investment of public funds being funneled into private interests to the people who'd be directly desperate impacted, desperately trying to protect their homes and their communities.

Fortunately for you, I am short on time, and people have done that work of explaining all of that already.

What I want to draw your attention to is two val two values that my parents, including my father, who funnily enough was a Spurs ball boy in the 90s, have drilled into my head since I was a very young child.

Love is patient and always prioritize data collection.

Currently, due to the impatience on behalf, the impatience on behalf of certain parties, we are trying to be deprived of vital information about the health and wellness of the city as it pertains to Project Marvel.

I ask you, if you love this city, vote for patience.

Vote for taking extra care of the corners instead of cutting them.

And let us gather data to truly analyze the impact this arena will have on our city.

Ask about what is being hidden, what is being obfuscated, and who is set to gain from your ignorance.

No one can blame you for needing answers to questions, but you will be held accountable if you do not ask the questions in the first place.

In the meantime, I would like to ask you a few questions.

In all the stories of the archetypal, fast talking businessman and the rancher doing the hard and honest work of cultivating the land that sits under us currently today.

What have you learned?

Do you truly know the value of what you're trying to sell?

How will you let the spirit of San Antonio shape you as you are making decisions about how to shape San Antonio?

Thank you.

Robert Shelby, James Norty, Renee Dominguez.

Mayor and City Council.

I am Robert Shelby.

I live in Council Woman Current's District One.

I am that basketball fan originally from Indiana that has season tickets for the San Antonio Spurs.

Since the last meeting on the sports and entertainment district, Project Marvel, there continues to be misunderstanding as to what Project Marvel is and what it is not.

The local media has done nothing to correct misinformation being presented.

Project Marvel is more than the new arena.

The media continues to say the city council city contributions to the arena is almost 500 million.

In actuality, the city contributions is to sell municipal bonds to finance the city's portion of the new arena, which at this time is 489 million.

No city property tax revenue will be used for the arena.

Those bonds will be repaid using the lease payments from the Spurs make ground leases to the other property in Project Marvel area, revenue from the hemisphere tax increment reinvestment zone, revenue from the Project Finance Zone number two.

None of this 489 million of bond money will be available and repaid if Project Marvel does not move forward.

The city's contributions is that city manager Eric Walsh has guided the city to the highest possible bond rating, which means the lowest possible interest on the bonds.

That means it will be easier to repay the funds needed.

Mayor Jones is acting like a former mayor that did not want a new arena downtown 25 years ago.

If it had not been for a forward-thinking county judge, the Spurs may have moved out of town 20 years ago.

Mayor Jones has been less than professional interrupting public meetings, arguing for more information and transparency.

Yet she refused to answer the question from Spurs Jesus, which is appropriate in being transparent.

What is the economic impact on the city if Project Marvel and the arena are not completed and the Spurs leave San Antonio?

That economic impact would be huge.

I urge the city council to authorize City Manager Walsh to continue the process with the term sheet and move forward on Project Marvel.

James Norty.

Renee Dominguez, Aran Miraz, and Aiden Stiles.

Good morning, Mayor James Norte.

This is a preliminary matter.

We'll be speaking with a group I have Leela Powell with me and Renee Dominguez.

Oh, okay.

So James, okay, so Renee, and then how many other?

Powell 77.

Thank you.

Six minutes, thank you.

Thank you, Mayor, and good morning.

Good morning, Mayor, good morning, Council members.

My name is James Norte, and I have the joy and honor of serving as CEO for San Antonio for Growth of the East Side, where our mission is to promote the economic development and could fight how the East Side.

I am so honored to be joined by the president of the Dignity Heights Diggity Hills Paper Association, Phyllis McNair, a fifth generation East San Antonian.

I absolutely am honored by this conversation.

I love the Spurs as a partner, but most of the conversation today has focused on downtown, the Alma Dome, the convention center.

What is missing is the community component.

What is missing is how this proposal could benefit or harm those who are most affected, our residents of small businesses.

For that reason, I rise, because this is concerning that although the Spurs brings so much, this move to downtown represents another divestment from the Eastside, especially for a community that has seen decades of divestment.

And we know the Eastside is not the only one.

There is no need for history to repeat itself.

We could learn and we can move forward.

And it's for this reason Sage has joined forces with Lisbon San Antonio and with Velocity to propose an Eastside District plan that can help ensure that these benefits are spread broadly, promoting economic development, housing infrastructure, small business support.

This is what's missing from our conversation today.

Our community may be divided on whether or not to support Project Marvel, but where we are united is the need for community-based economic development.

Where we are united is a model that supports a win-win dynamic that brings people together.

And that's for this reason, both Dignity Hills and Denver Heights support our plan.

It's for this reason that we believe this model can be replicated on the west side or the south side all over San Antonio.

And it's for this reason we urge you to heal old wounds.

Harness this moment to move forward and together think through how we can help build community trust with the Eastside District.

I'll go ahead and move on to my partner.

Thanks, James.

Council, Mayor, my name is Renee Dominguez.

I'm the president and CEO of the Texas Research and Technology Foundation, better known as Velocity Texas.

Velocity Texas is a 40-year-old nonprofit here in San Antonio.

For 30 of those years, we were establishing a research park on the far west side of San Antonio outside of our city limits.

And around 10 years ago, our board decided to change its strategy to develop a mixed-use, vibrant community.

As we researched where we wanted to place this huge impact investment, the Near East Side, blocks in front of the Alamo Dome became that preferred site, primarily because of its revitalization potential, but also with the big and huge, profound opportunity to impact the nearby residents.

Since we've started, we've redeveloped the entire merchant's ice city block, secured three-anchor tenants, and we bought the historic and culturally significant GJ Sutton property right next door.

We've been working hard with our partners to establish this east side innovation district that James mentioned.

We were starting to integrate and sincerely incorporate the neighborhoods into our process.

But now with the VIA ART Silver Line that's not being discussed enough, that's going to have a profound impact.

And of course, the sports Spurs and Entertainment District, we have a real opportunity to leverage these investments to drive economic development to the Near East Side to really create an economic and community development plan.

By including this plan in the discussions around this incredible investment, we can current we can turn game day excitement into everyday economic opportunity.

I'll conclude by saying we've presented this plan to the Spurs, and they fully support the framework of this plan.

We've presented to the chamber to Centro, to various city council members, to Eastside leaders, to Eastside business owners, and most importantly, we've received the endorsement from Dignity Hill Neighborhood Association and Endeavour Heights Neighborhood Association.

Thank you, Renee.

I'll just conclude by uh speaking on behalf of Lisc San Antonio.

We're a nonprofit organization, and our mission is to work with and in community to build health, wealth, and power for under-resourced and underinvested families and neighborhoods.

And I think everyone who's spoken today has agreed that benefits that come from development should flow to existing residents and existing businesses, and uh should also be targeted to areas where uh there may be negative impacts.

So what what I want to remind everyone of, and uh I I don't need to remind uh Councilwoman Castillo because she's already addressed this, the city has invested many years.

Uh, hundreds of volunteers have spent thousands of hours developing plans, and those plans may be specific, like the strategic housing implementation plan or neighborhood-based plans or other economic development plans, and those plans form a very solid basis for uh deciding where resources and where investment should go as the benefit of future growth.

Um for example, the strategic housing implementation plan includes many actionable strategies, a lot of them already underway, uh, things like creating community land trusts and having hyper-local uh development strategies for affordable and accessible housing.

So the Eastside District provides a perfect model, a replicable model for investing new resources that come with growth and development.

And I uh I urge uh the council as you move forward with deciding about community benefits to take into account the work that has already been done by residents and by neighborhoods to create a framework for this future investment.

We don't need to recreate that wheel.

Please use the existing plans and commitments as a starting point.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Aaron Muraz, Metas, Metaz, Aram Maraz.

I hope that's right.

Aidan Styles, uh, Ramiro Cavasos, and then Melina Esperatu Asoka.

Good afternoon, uh, uh, good morning, Mayor Council, city manager.

Uh my name is Arameras.

Uh I was born and raised here in this beautiful city of San Antonio.

Uh I love the culture of the people, the history of the city.

Uh I'm not representing anyone, it's just myself.

Um here to speak in favor of this term sheet.

Project Marvel is more than just a new arena, shiny new buildings.

Um it's a project that propels San Antonio into the 21st century and stabilizes the Spurs as the economic engine that we need in the city.

If we keep pausing, if we keep delaying, this will become a vicious cycle.

One study becomes another, one opinion becomes two, one project proposal becomes five.

Ask Seattle, ask Oakland how that worked out.

The winners will only be consulting firms.

And we believe, I believe, that we need to act now.

Not out of fear that the Spurs might leave in 2032 when they get a godfather offer.

But the time is now because this is our moment.

This is a historic moment for a historic city in a historic franchise.

Ask Dallas how hard it was to be relevant in the NBA.

Ask Houston.

If they have a team to be proud of the time to act is now.

Aidan Styles.

All right.

Aidan Styles, Ramiro Cavasos, Melina Espiritua Sokar, please line up.

Ramiro Cavasos, are you in the building?

Okay, go ahead.

How are you doing?

My name's Aiden Stiles.

I'm a CPA and a uh realtor, and primarily my business is done in the South Town Lavaca dignuity area.

I'm intimately familiar with that area.

And all of that area is poised for massive expansion with a capital infusion like this.

There are tons of developers and housing opportunities available if we move forward with Project Marvel.

Uh I represent one uh residential community that once built out will generate over a million dollars in property taxes each year.

Uh anybody in contract negotiations will tell you that time kills all deals.

And especially in construction, we know that labor is going up, material costs are going up, time kills all deals.

This project is more expensive today than it was yesterday.

And so delaying any more makes it less and less likely to happen and more expensive.

So I encourage you to move forward quickly because it will bring insane, I think, insane amounts of development and uh vibran to the downtown area.

Ramiro Cavassos, Melina Espiratus Azocard, and then Shana Avery and Rachel Melendez.

Good afternoon now.

Good afternoon.

My name is Melina Espiditu Asoca, and I am the proud president of Northside AFT, the union representing the working people of Northside ISD.

I am here today in strong support of Mayor Jones's request for an independent economic analysis before any commitments are made regarding our San Antonio Spurs.

We love our Spurs.

But before public money is spent, working families deserve transparency and accountability.

Too often promises are made to corporate corporations while our classrooms are underfunded.

Our neighborhoods need investments and working people struggle to make ends meet.

An independent economic analysis ensures the public dollars, dollars that could strengthen our schools, expand health care, and support union jobs are used responsibly and benefit our entire community.

This is not anti-spurs, it's pro-community, pro-worker and pro-transparency.

We want the Spurs to thrive here, but our families, children, and our neighborhoods must thrive too.

That's why we stand in full support of Mayor Jones's call for an independent economic analysis because San Antonio deserves nothing less.

And I will say that there are multiple unions here this this afternoon this morning.

Some have had to leave because they have to work today, but we want to support Mayor Jones's request.

Thank you.

Shana Avery, Rachel Melendez, Mary Salcedo.

Shana Avery.

Rachel Melendez.

Mary Saucedo and Max Meza.

Please line up.

Thanks.

They're with uh with me, Mayor.

Yeah.

Um there's so six total.

There's three speakers, yes.

Okay.

Um, but we all wanted to come up.

So right, um, so Rachel, you've got Mary.

Yes, and Max Messenger.

Okay, so it's the three in order.

Cool.

Thank you.

Um, good morning or good afternoon now.

Um, thank you for giving us the time here.

We are a union that represents hotel and hospitality workers across the city, across the state, across the country.

Uh, we actually have 300,000 members across the country in hotels, casinos, stadiums, etc.

So we are um here to say we support the mayor's um call for an economic analysis, and also want to say we are the expert on these jobs, right?

My our members here are the expert on how these jobs can be good jobs.

And right now, it doesn't look like good jobs.

Uh I did see in the term sheet that there is an uh city's minimum wage for full-time employees at the stadium.

Um, how many of those employees at the stadium are gonna be full-time?

What are those job classifications?

Is full-time 40 hours?

Is it 35?

Is it 32?

Right?

We have these questions about what we're gonna get there.

So um I think I'll also add that it's really it's really wild that asking for more information is coming off as or is being uh turned into being against the project.

We think this could be a good uh good project if it's done right.

We just need the information.

So I'm gonna pass it over to I think Max was gonna go next.

Mayor City Council.

My name is Max, and I might work for Gran Hayek.

Sir, please speak into the mic.

Thank you.

My name is Max.

I work for Grand Hayat as a bank server.

For over the 35 years, I've worked at the hotels all over the country.

I have the hotels, hospitality jobs can be the good jobs.

To say that this project will bring jobs, doesn't mean to anything.

People all over the city are working two or three or more jobs to make ends in to me.

Also, tourists are not coming here for the sports.

It's time that the sport shows us the same low back.

We need more information about how this would impact our city.

Please do your dual delegations and represent us in the future generations of San Antonio.

We need the best deal for us.

No a quick deal.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Mary Salcedo.

Um, I have a live in District 4, and I have worked in the Hyde for 16 years since it opened.

We are here, we were here for two weeks ago, and I spoke then about my experience working in the hospitality industry here.

I like I said before, I am proud of my work, welcoming visitors, me and my co-workers cook, serve and clean for guests to our city.

We are the backbone of the whole hospitality industry, and I love the Spurs, but I need the Spurs to show us the love that they love us too.

Why does asking for an impact report mean that anyone is against a stadium or the Spurs?

City Council needs to find the best deal for us, the people of San Antonio.

I support I support the mayor as more for more data, and we are calling each of your office to set up a meeting.

And we are calling each of the office to set up a meeting.

You have each met with the Spurs, and we're asking for the same courtesy.

Thank you.

A couple of weeks back, we heard somebody compare um Las Vegas wages to San Antonio wages.

And I don't know what numbers they were looking at or what jobs they were looking at.

But if we want to talk about Las Vegas wages and uh hospitality workers, we could bring those workers down.

Those members, uh those workers are members of our union.

Uh there's 60,000 hospitality workers that are members of our union in Las Vegas, and they would be more than happy to come down here and share with you the difference in their jobs and our jobs here.

So like Mary said, we're going to be calling.

We would love to meet with all of you.

If that's helpful, we will bring those members down from Las Vegas along with our members from here in San Antonio.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you for your time.

Stephen Price, Richard Open Richard Oppenheim, Mary Cabral.

And then after Mary, it's going to be Celia Mendoza, Joe Earl Linson, Clint below.

Please line up.

Okay.

So Stephen Price.

Sorry.

Councilwoman.

Mayor.

Honored guests.

Greetings, ladies and gentlemen.

My name is Stephen Price.

I'm a former U.S.

Army non-commissioned officer and foreign special operations analyst.

I learned success depends on good information, responsibility, your people, courage, honesty, integrity, loyalty, and leadership.

I call it the chill factor.

Well, in uniform, we called it military intelligence, human intelligence collection, and public leadership, we call it policy.

And policy, not political warfare, is what San Antonio needs right now.

As I've sat here, I watch.

Project Marvel has stirred good public debate over what is a lack of public knowledge and engagement.

Some see an arena that could energize downtown and grow jobs.

Others, like Mayor Gina or Keys are asking the hard questions.

Will it be transparent?

Will it protect taxpayers?

Will it truly benefit our citizens?

That's not standing in the way.

That's standing for us.

Let's be honest.

Our people are tired, tired of dysfunction, tired of politicians fighting the headlines while families struggle with anxiety, emotional stress, and uncertainty about the future.

All of this has consequences.

Next month is Suicide Awareness Months.

Every day in America, 18 veterans, 18 or 22 veterans take their lives.

I heard not one mention of a veteran here today.

Mayor Ortiz is providing the progress that doesn't come from rushing them deal, but comes from protecting the people and building a future rooted in accountability and compassion.

When leaders choose political warfare over problem solving, the message is clear.

Power is more important than people.

People already struggling with isolation feel even more abandoned.

The call to leadership, the leadership is service before self, integrity above ambition, and unity above the vision.

This is the chill factor.

Is that it, sir, ma'am?

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am Richard Oppenheim, Mary Cabral, Celia Mendoza, Joe Earl Linson.

Thank you, uh Mayor Jones.

Thank you, members of the council.

Uh I'll be up right up front and say I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask.

But before I do, I'm just going to address this to the person who represents me in the city council.

I'm a district one resident, and I am urging Dr.

Cor to stand behind the mayor and back item number four on the agenda and demand a full reasonable and independent accounting here.

Nobody enters into a 30-year mortgage and has the person who they're buying the house from furnish the house inspection.

Okay.

Uh my questions are these.

And the first one is not actually directly about the Spurs arena.

It's actually about another element of Project Marvel that I'm not hearing discussed very much.

I'd like to know, can you assure us?

I say you collectively, can you assure us that the costs entailed in taking a perfectly functional SAWS treatment plant, uprooting it, moving it, building access roads, and all the other attendant costs that go with that.

Is that going to come out of my monthly SAWS bill?

How is that actually going to be paid?

That seems to uh be very unclear to me.

Now I'll go on to the arena.

This uh Project Marvel Arena Plan, this is not this is nothing particularly new.

It's a uh this has been done over several decades and in several different cities, and as you might expect, there have also been a number of studies, and those studies uniformly conclude that there are no economic benefits that accrue to the working people of these communities after public funds have been used to subsidize a privately owned sports facility.

Thank you.

Maria Cabral, Celia Mendoza, Joe Earl Linson, Clint below.

Good afternoon, Mayor, Council people.

Um my name is Mary Cabral.

I was born and raised here in San Antonio, and um raised my children here.

Um I'm a retired school teacher.

I am in District 7, and uh I am here to support the mayor.

In fact, Mayor, I didn't vote for you, but I will in the future.

You are the only mayor, and I'm 80 years old, and I've been here all my life, that has stood up for the people, and I really support you, and I will from now on.

And I also want to give kudos to Mr.

Edward Mungia.

He called me last night about 8:30 at night.

Um apologize for calling me so late.

I was so happy to hear his voice.

I said, thank you, thank you for calling me, because I called all of my uh council people.

Well, not all they're not all mine, but actually they are, because I love all the people of San Antonio, so all of you are part of me.

But Mr.

Mungia explained a lot of stuff to me.

I am a regular person, I'm a very concerned person, and I was very thrilled that one of the council people took the time to talk to me.

Uh I come here before you as a concerned, very concerned taxpayer, and to ask you to pause the negotiations.

The mayor is correct on this issue.

We are not on any deadline here.

Why are you anxious to sign a non is that it?

Uh yes, ma'am, unless there's somebody that would like to give you time.

No, please pause the negotiation.

That's all I can see.

You can you can submit your comments for the record, ma'am.

No, that's fine.

Thank you, Daniel.

Celia Mendoza, Joe Earl Linson, Clint Below, Charles A.

Fuentes.

Hi, my name is Celia Mendoza, and I'm a voter in District 1.

Sorry, Mary Cabral.

Did you already speak?

Oh, I'm sorry.

Sorry, sorry, ma'am.

Thank you.

Please go ahead.

Sure, sure enough.

For the record, due diligence is not delay.

It is a foundation for progress and success.

I support delaying the term sheet consideration.

And I would uh like to add five um a few requirements to the already two.

That the independent study include economic, environmental, and quality of life studies as well.

And that there is an independent study of the same caliber to look at the actual impact for the former ATT Center.

We were promised a great deal with that, and the neighborhoods were promised a great deal with that.

So we need to look at those promises and the actual impact.

I also think that we need to pause this and while the econom the economic revitalization that was promised again at the ATT Center has not materialized, and we should not move forward and leave that abandoned until it has materialized.

We need to draft while we're waiting for this new proposal or the new study.

We need to draft a new city system process that is transparent and honest, and it's for the benefit of the entire city, not the select few, not the one percent.

Ultimately, that's why we're here today because there is a systemic failure in how we do business in San Antonio.

Thank you.

Joe Earl Linson, Clint Below, Charles A Fuentes.

Mayor and City Council, I'm Joe Lenson.

I'm representing uh Tony G Soul Food and uh hospitality collective, and I'm a proud resident of District 7.

Appreciate all the work you've done, Marina.

Uh look, this is a good deal.

It's about jobs, jobs, jobs.

Think of the concrete that's going to be born in this whole process.

Not just the arena, just the the uh infrastructure and all of that.

This is important.

And these are highways jobs.

I was about to talk about the low wages.

They're not all low wages.

You want to solve this poverty problem.

These are the kind of projects that we've got to step up to.

Last time I was up here, I talked about how the impact that the Alamo Dome had.

Think of the final four, that impact.

Think of the Valero Alamo Bowl, what happens every year late in December, 65,000 folk in that building, Derek Fox and his team working on.

That's huge economics.

Also want to point out to you all that how to say this.

Uh OJT opportunities, paid apprenticeships, and getting more young people involved in the building trades.

This is how you raise the poverty rate in this, I mean, lower it rather than this town.

So let's don't miss that.

And I'm afraid that we may be in a situation where there's a paralysis of analysis.

The info is out there.

This is a project that can transform San Antonio, just as the dome did.

It's a big deal.

Let's not pass on that.

So I'm expecting a hoping rather that at least six of you say yes today on the term sheet, and let's continue to move forward.

I know in San Antonio we we make it difficult sometimes to do things, but that's the nature of it.

I have no problem with people, the opposition.

They have a right to speak.

This is America.

But this is a good project for this city.

It's going to put us on the map in a different way.

And lastly, I don't know of any professional organization that has committed what the San Antonio Spurs have done just on this.

I'm not talking about the historically, but just on this is think of cost overruns.

They're gonna pick that up, and the own construction jobs are all overruns.

Thank you.

Appreciate your help.

Clint Clint Below.

Clint Below.

Okay.

Charles A Fuentes.

Followed by Lupita Gonzalez and Mary Aponte.

Please line up.

Good afternoon, folks.

I'm Charles Alexander Fuentes of uh CWA Local 6143, and uh delegate to the San Antonio Central Labor Council.

I'm speaking not just on behalf of the union members, which we represent, but on behalf of the working people of San Antonio.

I stand here to advocate for the heart of any grand project that the city oversees.

It's the workers who build it.

We all know that a project like this is not just about the concrete and the steel, it's about the folks whose hands will shape it.

And it's essential that those workers have solid concrete protections.

That's why our commitments cannot live in press releases or speeches.

They must live in contractual language.

We need clear and forcible language with real teeth that guarantees livable wages, strong benefits, and safe job sites for every person who sets foot on the project from the first day of site prep and vertical construction through commissioning, daily operations, and ongoing maintenance.

No ambiguity uh ambiguity, no loopholes, no loss, uh no empty promises.

This means writing into the agreement, the standards our community expects, wages that actually cover the cost of living, comprehensive health care and retirement security, as well as, and I'm glad it was brought up before me, uh verified training and apprenticeship pathways and safety provisions that empower workers to speak up and stop unsafe work without fear of retaliation.

When these protections are spelled out in black and white, we don't just build a project, we build stability for families, we built we strengthen our local economy, and we honor the dignity of their labor.

So let's commit to a project that reflects the best of San Antonio, that's built a future that honors the value of our workers with real enforceable commitments.

Thank you.

Lupita Gonzalez.

Okay.

Mary Aponte.

Thank you, Mayor.

I wasn't sure I was speaking a second time.

Sorry, if you your duplicate duplicate on that.

Okay, okay.

I already didn't.

Thank you.

Mary Aponte, followed by Peter Holt, Sean Elliott, and Danny Fortenberry.

Mary Aponte.

Somebody before us?

She's before you, Mr.

Holt.

One second.

Is she here?

No?

Okay.

All right.

Peter Holt, Sean Elliott, Danny Fortenberry.

Mayor, I've got um speakers, Sean Elliott, Peter Holt, Danny Fortenberry.

Sorry, I'm going fast.

Tyler Caldwell, Joe Donnelly.

Do you have that?

Okay.

You have six minutes.

Thank you.

Okay, great.

Umor and members of City Council, thank you for the opportunity to be here.

Um is Peter Holt and I'm with the San Antonio Spurs.

But I guess most people know that.

First of all, I just want to say that although we may disagree, I'm very proud of and respect all the people that have come up today.

Um I think that our city really deserves uh civic engagement and caring, proud, passionate members of our community, and so um that makes me my heart full to hear that, even if we disagree.

Um I'm gonna pass it to Sean real quick and then come back up.

Thank you.

Cleaning lady was cleaning the bathroom, so it took me a little time.

Uh good afternoon, mayor, city council members.

I'm Sean Elliott, obviously.

I've been a proud member of the San Antonio community.

And a Spurs employee for over 35 years.

I was drafted here in 1989 by the San Antonio Spurs, and I was a young man who knew nothing about the city.

And I quickly learned when I got here how much the people of San Antonio meant to the San Antonio Spurs and how much the Spurs meant to the people.

The Spurs have always been an instrument for bigger things, to build up San Antonio.

And that spirit continues today, whether it's visiting wounded warriors, fixing playgrounds, speaking to students in school, leading charitables and events for the less fortunate, especially during the holiday season.

Spurs, players past and present, have never been more active in the community than they are today.

The impact is immeasurable, and there's a reason that so many of us stay here.

David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Montu Ginobli, Tony Parker, George the Iceman Gervin.

They're all legends.

They can live anywhere they want, but they laid down roots right here in San Antonio.

And I did too, because there's a special bond here between the team, the city, and its people.

It's special.

But it's not just about basketball.

Over the last three decades, I've watched San Antonio grow into one of the most dynamic, diverse, and welcoming cities in the entire nation.

From our military presence to our thriving small businesses, to our incredibly rich cultural traditions like Fiesta that make us so unique.

We are a city on the rise.

We saw that earlier with our culinary chefs.

This gives us a chance to really soar.

And that's where Project Marvel matters.

It's more than just a new arena.

It's an investment in our city's future.

It will help San Antonio step out of the shadows of other Texas cities and assume its rightful place as the number one city in Texas.

It's obvious that I love this city.

I'm sorry for taking so much of your time, boss.

But I I've built my life here.

I want to see it continue to grow and thrive for many generations to come.

Project Marvel can make that happen.

So thank you for all of your time, and thank you for believing in San Antonio.

Let me be clear about what the Spurs are putting on the table.

$500 million direct contribution toward the arena costs.

Spurs cover 100% of cost overruns.

City's commitment is capped.

1.4 billion in private development to create jobs and grow downtown in the district.

75 million in community benefits.

That's over 2 billion committed from the Spurs, one of the largest private investments in the history of San Antonio.

The Spurs will invest alongside the city and the county, a true partnership.

The public will own the arena.

There will be no impact on local residents' taxes and no money diverted from the city's general fund.

So this world class arena will be owned by the public, paid by tourists, and operated by the Spurs.

A successful formula that has provided five championships to this city and will bring many more.

This will make sure the heart of San Antonio is thriving.

Thank you for your time.

We urge your support for item number five.

Eric Leideker, Christian Bidenhorn, Matthew Pike, Solomon, Ray Morales.

What up?

Great to see everybody here today.

I was here last night, but my council member wasn't here, so I had to return today.

Thank you, Mark, for being here with us.

Now, Project Marvel is pretty controversial.

Y'all have gotten pretty riled up over it.

It's pretty funny to see Mayor go full Kanye West against Spurs Jesus yesterday.

It was really interesting.

I am in favor of her pause, a strategic pause, not a stop, but a pause, so we can make sure that this deal is good for everybody in San Antonio.

Not just District One, not just District Two.

Which is why I've become confused why you, Mark, have become the poster boy for this project.

What is District 10 getting out of this?

What jobs are coming to District 10 from this?

What are you getting out of this deal?

I looked over the proposed term sheets, and I was really shocked to find that Spider-Man, Captain America, none of the Avengers are part of Project Marvel.

How don't y'all come up with this name?

I really don't understand.

We could really use some Tony Stark money to fund this project, you know, instead of taking it just from three entities.

Because it's going to be more than three entities that benefit from this.

It'll be more than just the city of San Antonio, Bear County, and the Spurs.

So maybe we could entice a big company like Disney or the like to invest in our city and invest in this project.

There's gonna be other players that benefit from this.

We need to find them, and they should pay their fair share.

Thank you.

Christian Bidenhorn, Matthew Mike Solomon, Ray Morales.

Uh thank you, Mayor, Council members.

My name is Christian Biedenhorn.

I was born and raised here in San Antonio, and I currently live in District 5.

I'm a rancher who works in the sustainability space with our company officing here in downtown.

I split my time between the city and the ranch.

I've come to believe that ruralism and urbanism aren't opposites, but actually depend on each other.

Urban density is key to building strong cities where people want to live.

When we invest in vibrant, walkable city centers, we not only improve the quality of life in San Antonio, but also create real economic and sustainability benefits.

And most importantly, urban density helps stop the sprawl and protects the rural lands and watersheds that future generations depend on.

That's why I'm excited about Project Marvel.

It completes the vision San Antonio laid out with Hemisphere in 1968.

It can finally be the catalyst for a downtown that San Antonians will be proud of.

For decades we've heard about the efforts to revitalize downtown, but they've never worked as hoped.

Project Marvel is the best chance we've had to finally make it happen.

It's not lost on me that many of the people calling for pausing and more analyses are also wearing no Project Marvel stickers.

It's important the public understands the proposal isn't funded from the city's general fund or essential services.

The county share comes from the voter approved hotel and rental car taxes.

The city share is bond financed and repaid through Spurs lease payments, ground rents, and revenue from downtown tax zones, not local taxpayers.

This is also a great deal for San Antonio.

Oklahoma City, a comparable market, just built an arena with only 50 million in owner contribution.

And when people say make Austin billionaires like Michael Dell or Joe Jebia pay for it, I'd ask, where do you think they'd build it if they did?

Baltimore once thought, and the Colts never stated that they would ever leave until they became the Indianapolis Colts in the middle of the night.

This framework has been nearly three years in the making, and further delay only increases both real and opportunity cost in Wimby's timeline.

As one councilman asked, do we really need another economic analysis to know what the Spurs mean to San Antonio?

People are saying this is already a done deal, and some of this feels like theater because this is such an obvious win for our city.

But in today's uncertainties, we need everyone to ensure that what's supposed to happen.

Thank you.

You can submit the rest of your comments for the record.

Matthew Mike.

Matthew Pike Solomon, Ray Morales, Susanna Segura.

Good afternoon.

My name is Matthew Pike Solomon.

I live on the West Side in District 5.

Um I'm here to speak on item number four on the term proposed term sheet as it pertains to accessibility infrastructure and community benefit.

Today I'm wearing the Spurs Pride jersey from this year's Pride Night Game that our organization was invited to by the Spurs.

A game that we got ready for and traveled to only to be turned away after we got there because the Frost Center ran out of ADA seating to accommodate my husband, who is quadriplegic.

However, if those venues were truly acceptable, my family would be able to attend any game or concert that we want.

This is an opportunity to show that when San Antonio builds for our community, we build for all of our community, not just a select few.

I oppose the way this uh term came together.

But if you move forward, I please, I please ask that you make accessibility a priority for Project Marvel now.

In the term agreement with the Spurs, 57 months were given with a respect to the design of the arena.

I employ the Spurs, City Council, and all participating parties to make sure that all stakeholders, including the disabled community are part of that process.

Equitable seating and accommodations that include removable seating, accessible and affordable parking, and mandatory evacuation plans.

Thank you.

Ray Morales, Susanna Segura, Gabriel Lynch.

Please line up.

Let's be very clear.

We want the Spurs to stay in San Antonio.

And we want San Antonio to do even better than it has done before.

RC Buford has been quoted on Project Marvel.

It's about building a place that fosters opportunity, creates lasting memories, and ensures San Antonio continues to thrive for generations to come.

That should be and hopefully is our shared value when we ask for an independent due diligent report before we commit to the so-called non-binding term agree uh term sheet.

I fully support item number four.

Um residents who serve due diligence, the Spurs deserve it, so that we can continue our strong relationship, keys to that relationship are combination of trust, transparent communication, respect, and shared values.

Fearful comments about the Spurs leaving has no place in this relationship.

So is a point that we do not have time to look at this any further.

Let us also be clear on that.

I'm a retired architect and I know a little bit about development projects, budgets, schedules, cost overruns.

How many times are we going to throw money down the drain?

For example, all the conventional centers and the arena that we have built without asking the right questions.

When I hear the past, well, uh when I hear two past mayors in support of this development project, I look at the record of achievement and development.

Not very good in general.

When you consider $80 million for a Fiesta Plaza Mall, a pink elephant that had to be torn down.

56 million in upgrades to the Alamo Dome in 2018, or the 29 million recently spent on upgrades again on the Alamo Dome.

All this while we would remain the third poorest city in the nation.

Okay, sorry.

Sir, go ahead, you can finish.

Thank you.

Um why don't they put up 250 million or the full 500 million they are asking the city for?

Uh thank you, sir.

You can submit the rest for the record.

Susanna Segura, Gabriel Lynch, Cindy Munch.

I would like to give my time to Ms.

Your name, sir.

Frei Reyes.

Oh, from earlier.

Yes, okay.

Hello, my name is Susana Segura.

I represent uh 30 folks in District 4, easily, friends and family, and I work in D5 and D1.

Um, I have noticed that the council people who have publicly stated they're gonna vote uh for the term sheet have largely missed this meeting.

And whether they can hear me in the back or not, doesn't really matter.

You know, it's the optics that they're just not present, and they continue to leave the room, but uh that's disheartening all the time.

Um I want to thank Sean Elliott for being here.

Um thank you, Jesus, for your brother Noelle's kidney.

You do a lot of advocacy for folks in the community that are struggling and that need transplants, and my aunt is one of them, so it's very near and dear to my heart.

Um, I was a kid and I played basketball all through elementary and middle school, and I was a five-year-old thinking three-pointers.

You know, I got to a point where I just stayed short and everybody got the better positions than I did, and when high school came around, I wasn't on the team anymore, but I did run track.

Um but I just wanted to also show you this bandana from when Sean Elliott was in the playoffs in 1990.

This is a vintage bandana that I've been taking care of, you know, for over 37 years.

This is mine.

Um it's not about how much we love the Spurs, you know.

I think I remember being at the Utah Jazz Game when they retired your jersey.

You know, that I remember all of those moments when we were parked on 87, and y'all had won the world championship, and it was a parking lot, and people were outside of their cars on the freeway.

It was wild.

Um this isn't really about fiscal responsibility.

It is about doing your due diligence.

Thank you, Mayor, for representing people in the community.

Thank you for standing up for what's right.

We do need an independent economic analysis.

I hope that you vote in favor of the community.

You asked for a pause, you asked for more information, and you encourage more community engagement in your district when that study is done.

And if you don't do that, I hope that your community recalls you.

Because I know that right now, people are regretting that four-year vote extension.

You're gonna make a big decision at the beginning of your four-year term.

That's gonna cost us for generations to come.

You know, I agree that the city of San Antonio needs to maintain their buildings.

I work at the Spinanza Center and we have several buildings that we have to maintain.

I agree that the city needs to put some money into the Alamo Dome and keep it viable.

I do want to see the Spurs back in Center City.

That'd be wonderful.

Um I also want to see the people who were undecided, you know, vote for the community.

You know, not to line the pockets of people, not for corporate welfare, not for the big billionaires.

Mayor, you asked for a portion of concessions and ticket sales.

That's correct.

They're gonna say no because they don't want us to know how much money they really make.

Gabriel Lynch, Cindy Munch, Ken Shaver.

Uh good afternoon, Mayor, City Council.

Uh, my name is Gabriel Lynch.

Um, I was born and raised right here in San Antonio.

I currently live in District 8.

Um, I'm I'm just a citizen, I'm not here on behalf of any else.

Um, and I would like to vote is my support for item number five.

Um, and that's because in 75 days, regardless of what we vote here, um, there will be a vote to move forward with a count only increase on the HOT tax in order to provide funding for that Spurs stadium.

Mayor, by your own presentation earlier today, that economic impact state, that independent economic impact statement that you want won't be prepared by then.

That means we won't have a finalized term sheet by then, and that means that our all the voters of the county, who are all, of course, your citizens as well, will go into that election without the information that they need.

Now, if that election fails as a result, that could result in the Spurs relocating.

I know you may think I'm fear-mongering, but really I'm just relying on history.

In the mid-2000s or the early 2000s, excuse me, the state of Washington and the city of Seattle face a situation similar to what we face today, as the supersonics look to secure funds for renovation to their stadium.

When those funds didn't come through, the owner of that team, who was from Seattle and who wanted to keep them there, was forced to sell.

In that cell, in that sale, he included a provision that required a quote unquote good faith attempt for the new owners to attempt to remain in that Seattle area and keep a stadium there.

That attempt didn't really go through.

Um the owners immediately turned around and looked at Oklahoma City where they were from.

They said, we're gonna build go to the stadium that already exists in Oklahoma City.

They got more funding from Oklahoma City, um, and they moved there.

Seattle still now, 20 years later, doesn't have a team.

So, yes, Mayor, there's been no public comment from the Spurs that they're looking to relocate.

But even if all 11 people sitting up here, even if Peter Holt, even if everyone in the city doesn't want the Spurs to relocate, if that vote fails in November, it's out of our hands.

Billionaires can swoop in, billionaires who are not currently associated with the Spurs, they can move that team to greener pastures, to better economic markets in Seattle and Las Vegas, in Austin.

Um it won't be our decision anymore.

Cindy Munch, Ken Shaver, Tory Sledge, Chance Moreno.

Is this move?

Okay.

Cindy Munch, District 9, and I'm speaking in favor of resolution four, delaying all negotiations until the council receives an unbiased impact study.

This is important to me because I feel we're getting a sales pitch, not information.

For example, we have been pitched and pitched about San Antonio can do Project Marvel because we are the seventh largest city in the nation.

The importance of this distinction that we are really the 27th largest metropolitan area in population was brought out by Peter Holt's answer to a question asked in an express news interview.

The interviewer stated that the last two NBA arenas were financed privately and asked why the Spurs weren't doing the same.

And he said, because we're still 26th or 27th of the 30 teams in market size.

I just heard though that the Spurs are willing to commit two million dollars two billion dollars, and I'm confused because that would buy an arena.

And I'm confused that if the Spurs put their money, made the decision to put their money where their team is, we're all done here.

So this is really about private funding and private uh public funding of Project Marvel.

What I have for a number for Project Marvel is 3.5 billion bonds would have to be issued.

They are currently uh triple A general obligation bonds, 4.55%.

If fully funded, that has a liability to the uh community of 17, 838,100 every month.

We have the arena rent, 4 million, that's 333,000 something a month.

The CLL CSL analysis, 351 million uh over 30 years.

Ma'am, you can submit the rest of your comments for the record, unless there's somebody that would like to give you time.

Okay.

Ken Shaver, Tori Sledge, Chance Moreno, William Ripto.

There, I'd like to relinquish my time to my wife, Nita.

So what was your wife's name?

Nita.

She's numbered 90 or 91.

We weren't able to, he didn't know he would be able to be here or whatever, so we didn't sign in together.

But I'm on the list.

A bit further down.

Okay.

Thank you.

Four minutes, ma'am.

Yes.

Thank you so much.

So much to say.

Um, I want to address some things that have been said today, and I hope I can do it succinctly, which I'm not known for.

But um, people talking about the white elephant, the where the Spurs are playing now, or the mission stadium.

It really does not make sense to plop something down like that, way out of a city center, and expect businesses to flourish around it.

Same thing for the baseball stadium.

Um successful, thriving cities, have strong downtowns.

Umtowns have their medical centers, their downtowns have their major universities.

Umtowns have parks, which we have, libraries, and so forth.

So we need this for the Spurs, because I see downtown as a neighborhood, or we do, as a neighborhood that belongs to everyone in San Antonio, right?

People come here and do all kinds of things, but they don't drive to someone else's neighborhood, go through a gate and say, Oh, here, we're gonna have fun today.

It's here.

So it should be here.

And I can only imagine, we've been to Jazz Fest and beautiful Civic Park and so forth.

I can only imagine the stadium filled.

We're retired educators, we don't have tickets either.

Um, just saying, although I don't miss a roadrunners football game.

Um we can imagine that stadium being filled, big screens out in civic park, people pour out, and everybody is downtown celebrating and spending money in the hospitality business in restaurants, you name it.

And who's gonna do that where they are now?

Oh, let's go run around on the pavement.

I mean, there's nothing to do.

Cities who are truly successful, and just imagine corporations coming in and they want to check out San Antonio.

They're gonna want to see the downtown.

They're going to want to see, I think, a thriving downtown.

We have a beautiful city, and people who do come admire it very much.

A rich tradition, known for hospitality.

But Austin is building this huge new conference center.

Um, their university, their hospitals, everything downtown.

You look at Houston, the oil industry, or the space industry, and so forth.

Yes, they built the Alamo Dome way out in the country at that time, but it was a much larger market.

The Spurs are dealing with a much smaller market, and they have remained loyal to us, and we have a responsibility to be loyal to them.

I feel that very strongly.

Um I think about the young people in our city, technology all the time, right?

Yeah, they're not sitting at home watching three channels on TV like we did when we were growing up.

Was that four?

Thank you, ma'am.

Okay, Tory Sledge, Chance Moreno, William Ripto, Ginger Trainer.

Uh yes, George Cincinnati's relinquishes time to me.

Thank you.

Uh good afternoon, everybody.

Is everybody up now?

Cool, cool, cool.

Good afternoon, council.

Uh, I want to say thank you for everything that y'all have done.

Thank you for everybody who has shown up.

It looks like we have a really proud people.

A lot of proud San Antans are here today because we are a very proud city, are we not?

Yeah, damn right we are.

We are proud to be the seventh largest city in the United States.

We are proud to be the top 10 fastest growing city in the nation, top three in growing tourism.

We are a top five in renewable energy capacity, and we are also proud to hold the title of Military City USA, as well as now Cyber City USA.

So let's go ahead and clap it up for San Antonio because that's amazing.

Because we are proud.

Are we also proud of the failing and underperforming school system K through 12 here?

Are we proud of the child and the household poverty rates that we hold?

And the 84,000 households that do not have internet access still?

Are we proud?

Are we proud of the overstressed water systems of the growing traffic congestion that we are facing, and as we know it is getting worse?

Are we still proud?

Are we proud that we do not have a plan for the future of San Antonio?

Because again, we are the seventh largest city by population, but we are 33rd when it comes to growth metropolitan product, which is our local GDP for the city.

We're 33rd.

Why?

How?

Haven't we had these projects over and over again that are supposed to say that everybody in San Antonio can eat from these pies that these plates that we have made, these marvelous projects that we have created?

Wasn't the city supposed to eat then?

So I asked, let's let's let's put all of this aside real quick.

Let's just talk San Antonio to San Antonio.

What good reason?

What reason does anybody here have on why we cannot be better as a city?

On why we cannot do better as a city together.

Do you have a good reason?

Does anybody here have a reason?

Is there a good reason why?

I don't know.

What why can we not be how to say uh how can we not learn?

That's really what I want to say.

What is stopping us from learning about our past mistakes and to be better right now at this moment?

What is stopping us?

What is stopping from caring about the people from District 2 and 5 that come to these districts like yours, Mark, and they serve your constituents?

Why can we care about those people and their livelihood?

Why?

Look, all I have and what I'll leave with this.

We are putting up taxpayer money that is going to give 50 over 50 percent of the initial startup cost.

But what we are receiving based on the term sheet and based on these agreements on the CBA is not what any partner that gives 50% or more to a business.

That is not what they should receive.

That is not what they would accept.

So why are we accepting that?

Why is it wrong for us to say, hey, let's just slow down?

Thank you.

You can submit the rest of your comments for the record.

Thank you.

Chance Moreno.

William Repito, Ginger Trainer, Ricardo Rivera.

Hello to the city council and everyone who uh took the time out to come to this meeting today.

Uh I only have two minutes, so I'm gonna make it quick, but uh this is a thought experiment that I uh ask everyone in the crowd and all of the city council members to participate in because I think it'll be relevant.

Um raise your hand if you ever heard of Peter Holt.

Okay, only one person participated this morning.

Um, I don't anticipate as many people have heard of Michael Hamilton or Janelle Harris.

Um just two of the 364 homeless people who died in San Antonio last year, both of whom were veterans.

Um I find it shameful uh that you I find it shameful that uh we sit here discussing a 1.2 billion dollar proposal, meanwhile, the public infrastructure in San Antonio is laughable.

We our buses are routinely late, our infrastructure and our roads.

I mean, there's potholes uh that are about as old as I am on Rigsby and Fair and uh many parts of the east side.

The parking situation downtown and the construction situation is laughable.

Half of the roads to get to this facility are under construction, half of the buildings are constantly under construction.

Um but I'd like to address the latter part of my comments about the public ROI and the nature of this project in general.

We're hearing a lot about how there's been a lot of transparency.

Then why have parties been signing non-disclosure agreements and been conducting these meetings uh in backdoor rooms away from public comment, away from public scrutiny?

Umorts proposed revenue sharing as a mechanism to fund this uh proposal, and yet that has been declined and shut down.

Uh lastly, as workers a teacher and educator, and so I don't go based on conjecture, I go based on facts and analysis.

And facts and analysis show that despite robust evidence, stadiums are not economic development catalysts and do not confer limited social benefits.

Economic research continues to demonstrate that stadiums remain poor public investments.

Um this is nothing more than a reverse robinhood, a transfer from the poor and the economically disadvantaged to the rich of this city, which is frankly quite uh quite frankly the last thing that uh the city needs.

We need investment in public infrastructure and in the actual economic diversity of the city.

Thank you.

William Riptoe, Ginger Trainer, Ricardo Rivera, Gabrielle Castro.

Good afternoon, y'all.

Um my name is William Ripto, I live in District 10 under Mark White.

Um, but I am a newcomer uh from North Texas, specifically Mesquite.

So I don't have a strong opinion on this project Marvel as of yet.

Um but what I do have a strong opinion is trying to jump into a potentially hundreds of millions of dollars investment without crossing our T's or dotting our I's we say this is gonna give us uh uh heck a lot of new jobs, um minimum wage paying jobs.

I can't live off of 725.

I can't go to school off of 725.

And this is a one point whatever billion dollar project for the stadium itself.

What about for the rest of Project Marvel?

How are we gonna fund that?

Y'all say the hotel occurs, the county venue tax, and the uh state hotel yada yada yeah tax.

All that is around three billion.

From what I'm finding, what I'm looking up online, I can't find any ideas for the cost, potential cost for the land bridge or the Alamo Dove Vides project.

Where's that money gonna come from?

Uh and in guards to the Alamo Dome, wasn't that supposed to invest in the area around it?

I've been hearing from plenty of people uh before and today that they have not seen the the return on investment.

So are we expecting the same situation to happen here with this new stadium?

I say we we must double check our numbers, make sure everything is going to happen the way we think it should be, and make sure our money is actually heading to the right places.

Gabriel Castro.

Okay.

Followed by Diana Urigas, Don Ann Latios, and Phyllis McNair.

Please line up.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council members.

My name is Adesla Oliho.

I moved to San Antonio here from Paris, France, 14 years ago.

Since moving here, I moved here.

I've had lots of opportunities to go to more hostility focused cities, but I chose to stay here because I believe that San Antonio has potential and I want it to be a part of shaping its future.

In 2020, I relaunched my company as Suecar right here in San Antonio.

It was a small pastry company, has now won over 140 publications.

We've won 40 international awards, and I've been on Food Network representing our proud city.

Most importantly, I've created jobs, mentored the community, and am helping the youth.

At a recent brunch I went to with you during Miss Madame Aver during the campaign season, you talked about a story of your mother working in hospitality and how that kind of laid a foundation for you to be sitting in that very seat.

And I think that projects like Project Marvel is what allows us to do this for our community.

This project is not just about the Spurs, although we all love our Spurs.

This project is about economic development and specifically my project of economic development.

Because of this project, I have been working on a two-year plan, and I will be opening, spin investing my own two million dollars here in San Antonio to start a restaurant, hopefully next year.

And I think that a lot of other young talented chefs from around the world are going to be attracted to a city like this.

My concerns are are we having the right staff?

Are people able to come here?

Are we able to attract talent here?

Do we have housing for them?

And in this project, with the hotel occupancy taxes you guys are talking about, we do can increase our tourism and thus increase our wages and make this a better place for all of San Antonio.

So in closing, I just want to say if there's a chance to improve our future, we should do everything in our power to seize it.

Project Marvel is about how we begin to course correct and to build a San Antonio that our children deserve.

And decades from now, I hope that we will be able to say that it was this was the moment where San Antonio chose to invest in its people in its future.

And so I thank you for your time.

Hope you have a wonderful day.

Diana Uyghurs, Don Ann Latios, Phyllis McNair, Rose Hill.

Please, please line up.

I'm here to speak on uh this project, and I'm uh for item four with you, and I hope all of your console will support you.

And I'm against item five.

Don't sign anything.

And I'm and um asking for you to hold off on that vote today.

Leave it for us for November because we've already given the Spurs two arenas.

This will be the third.

How many does it take?

This money needs to be used on the city.

We used it on you, the Spurs.

Because we love you.

It doesn't mean that we don't.

We're for you.

But how many arenas does it take?

We need this money to be put on drainage and uh housing and nourishment, education, and everything else.

We've given you so much.

Y'all need to put in yours.

Now that we've given it to you already, twice.

I haven't even been to a Spurs game, can't afford it.

I was without a job for a long time because nobody wanted to give me a job.

Thank you.

Don Ann Latios, Phyllis McNair, Rose Hill, Antonio Diaz.

Yes, Phyllis McNair, dignity heel.

I am uh giving my time to Rose Hill from Government Hill.

Don Hill, uh excuse me, Don Ann Latios is first.

Oh followed by Phyllis McNair and Rose Hill.

Thank you very much.

Good afternoon, Mayor and City Council.

My name is Don Ann Latios, and I am the executive director for the Texas Restaurant Association, San Antonio chapter, as well as the El Paso chapter.

Thank you all for having us today.

I stand before you today, proudly representing the board of directors for our Texas Restaurant Association, San Antonio chapter, and with me today is one of our fabulous board members, Adessa Alayho, who you just heard from.

She is the chef, a local chef.

We urge you to vote yes on item number five.

This sports and entertainment district, this arena is too important for our community, our business, your constituency, the economic impact it will have on our city, the tourism boost it will provide, where money is spent on our restaurants, our hotels, our bars, and entertainment, the jobs it will create.

In 2023, our hospitality industry brought in 21.5 billion dollars.

51% of that number came from restaurants and catering alone.

The contribution to our city of San Antonio was over 277 million dollars.

Today, over 149,000 employees, your constituents work in hospitality.

That's one in every eight residents.

Imagine what all of these numbers could be, will be with the new arena downtown.

The return on investment will be great.

This will be a historic investment in our community, our residents, our downtown, the crown jewel of our city.

We are a first-class city because of our uniqueness, our cultural identity, our hospitality, and because of our Spurs, or as my grandmother Latias used to say, Los Spurs.

And people like Sean Elliott and the Holt family.

I applaud I applaud the city manager and student city manager for the city.

Phyllis McNair.

Rose Hill.

Good afternoon, Mayor and City Council.

Ma'am, to clarify, did Phyllis McNair give you her time?

Yes.

Okay, go ahead.

Thanks.

It's four four minutes.

Thank you.

Okay.

Good afternoon.

My name is Rose Marie Hill, and I am oh, excuse me, good afternoon, Mayor and City Council.

My name is Rose Marie Hill, and I am the president of Government Hill Alliance Neighbor Association, which is outside Fort Sam.

I am also the co-founder of uh 30 Neighborhood Associations in District 2 called the D2 Presence Roundtable, which is a group of strong leaders on the east side that educate, communicate, uh educate ourselves on city government, meet once a month.

We find uh bring our it our problems to the table and we find solutions.

Uh today I'm here because I'm a little just a little disappointed because um I hear a lot of negativity and I hear positive also regarding the Spurs.

But main thing I wanted to relate is that uh on August the 9th, we had a very important district two uh roundtable meeting of all our presidents under one under under one roof, and I contacted the district two office to come and I invited Mr.

Castillo to come to our meeting, and um we nobody showed up.

Uh apparently there was another event going on, but it's very important that there be a lack of open line communication, especially right now that we don't have our counselman in hand.

And I know that Mr.

Castillo, you are new, and I wholeheartedly, but I did text you and I did email you because you missed a golden opportunity to come talk to us about Project Marvel right now.

There's a lot of confusion, a lot of uh division, and we should be coming together to find solutions because today I do hear there's a lot of negative negativity about the Spurs.

I do love the Spurs.

I've you know I've gone to many games and uh they've done the Spurs have actually helped us when we have our neighborhood association uh town uh the uh uh we call it uh national night out.

They actually give us money uh that we don't give from from the district two office to get to do our functions in district two.

So there are what we have to do today to is come together to understand the Spurs and then come understand that the people that are talking here.

Uh there were some issues regarding the district two uh on commerce and a lot of promises that were made around the um Alamo Dome that we were hoping that maybe could come to our meetings to be able to explain because knowledge is golden to many of us.

A lot of us are educated, but at the same time we're community leaders.

I've been on the east side for almost 40 years working with our communities and being an advocate for uh infrastructure and for housing uh for all kinds of different things that it poses, but if we don't have our district two council office informing us and being able to get us that golden information, we can't take it back to our communities.

So I'm here personally asking you, sir, today on our meeting September the 13th at uh 2025 at 10 o'clock at Second Baptist Church that you please come and meet with all the presidents, tell us a little bit more about Project Marvel, get get get us informed so that we can be educated enough to know what the project's about.

The term sheets that what y'all are talking about today, a lot of the presidents in our neighbor, again we're volunteers, but we'd like to have more information.

Information is important.

So I'm not here, I'm neutral here today because I don't got that information.

But I what I do uh wholeheartedly hear is a lot of negativity against our Spurs, you know, and I think that we need to have all the I'll put everything on on the table and be able to relate that information so we can get disseminate that information on to the community.

Community outreach is very important, very important.

Open line of communication is very important.

How it we we actually, the presidents, I don't think that some of the council people know how important our jobs are.

Our jobs are just as important as yours are because we're out there, we hold meetings once a month.

We're out there dealing with the same problems y'all are dealing with.

The only difference between y'all and us is that we don't get a paycheck.

So I wholeheartedly please come to our meetings, give us that information so we can make the rational decisions.

Thank you very much.

Antonio Diaz, Priscilla Lipaz, Veronica Sandoval, Trish Devery, please line up.

I'm I'm here uh uh supporting item four.

Uh I believe that getting an independent uh report, financial report for this over a billion dollar project is reasonable and should be done.

I don't know why some of the city council members want to move forward without getting one.

It's already been noted that CSL is affiliated with Spurs.

So again, it's like saying, hey, just trust me, here's the report instead of getting an independent one for all of us, uh, because we're we're all gonna be paying for it, not just uh district two, so uh or the private investors, but we are the whole city, and so I ask all of you here that are still here, do your due diligence, support the mayor's request.

Now we know we have a city manager and city council type government, and our city manager has a lot on his shoulders and responsibilities, but it's not solely on him.

You all are elected officials, all of you.

You're the ones that put forward a raise that we just approved this past year.

So respectfully, I believe the mayor should be listened to.

I should not be treated the way she's been treated by city council members.

Mr.

White, especially, he's not there.

So I am here basically to support item four, and to say respectfully to City Manager Walsh, a little preemptive, because we're we're gonna vote November.

And so thank you very much.

Support the mayor.

Priscilla Leipz, Veronica Sandoval, Trish Severi.

Hello, Mayor, I'd like to give my time to Trish Devery.

Okay.

Okay.

Four minutes, correct.

Yeah, just four minutes, correct.

Thank you.

Um good afternoon, Mayor, members of the city council, mayor.

We appreciate the fact that you are at our press conference yesterday.

Because at the end of the day, your voice is a critically important one, whether we agree or whether we disagree.

Because at the end of the day, at some point we're gonna be in lockstep with each other on the issues that are important to San Antonio, whether it's homelessness, whether it's affordable housing, whether it's workforce development, or whether it's pre-K4SA.

So I am here, Trish DeBerry, president and CEO of Central San Antonio, and on behalf of the board of directors that uh lead the organization along with myself, our staff, our 500 members who represent downtown, and our amazing 130 ambassador organization, who by the way, keep thank you.

Um let me just say these folks that are here today are here on their off day because they believe it is that important for them to be here.

So we're grateful for their contributions.

Um so we stand united in support for the members of the council that are moving forward with a positive o for term sheet today, because it is that important to downtown, not from just a downtown trajectory standpoint, but the entire community will benefit from this.

I stood before you a week ago, and I told you the monies that come into downtown do not stay in downtown.

They will go into the general fund and they will benefit districts across this city, streets, sidewalks, parks, and that is critically important.

I'm gonna lay out the facts of the deal and why we are standing here in support.

Number one, 311 million dollars from the county.

That is a visitor tax.

I worked on a past venue tax.

Those are visitors that come into San Antonio, rent cars, stay in hotel rooms.

That does not come from taxpayer pocketbooks, by and large.

I would tell you 95 to 98 percent are out of towners.

Then we look at the 489 million dollars that the city has brought forward in a term shooting.

Thank you to Eric Walsh to Ben Gorzell, Dandy Segovia to the council for digging in deep and working on this for the past two years.

This has not been a rushed decision by any stretch of the imagination, but let me be clear.

That 489 million dollars again will be repaid by the San Antonio Spurs who sit behind me today.

So, in ground leases and increased property taxes in downtown.

It will come back to the city, not to mention the 2.1 or 2.3 billion dollars that the Spurs have committed, allegedly are in fact for the arena and for the sports and entertainment district.

And mayor, good on you for striking a community benefits agreement that is unprecedented.

And by the way, 75 million dollars over 30 years is nothing to sneeze at because it will help this community in spades.

So I'll end this conversation with the fact that we need to be united together.

And though we agree to disagree on this issue, many of you that are here, some are in lockstep with us, but we will work on other projects that we need to get accomplished here.

And cops metro, we appreciate your voice here.

We have worked together on SAISD bond elections, on fluoride elections, on via elections, and on pre-K for SA elections.

It does not mean an either-or conversation.

We can lift this city up with a sports and entertainment district, but we can also bring people out of poverty at the very very same time.

Five championships here, Spurs Jesus here, right?

From the San Antonio Spurs.

This is a this is a small market team.

The dynamics are very, very different than they are in Seattle, Vegas, or anywhere else in the country.

We're proud of your support.

We're proud of what you're contributing to the equation.

We look forward to a positive vote today, and in five championships, guess what?

People were not honking around the ATT Center.

They were honking and waving flags where?

In downtown San Antonio.

Thank you very much.

Veronica Sandoval.

Veronica Sandoval.

Thelma Gonzalez, Kathleen Trenchard.

This is the final speaker.

Good afternoon, Councilman, Honorable Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor, for this day for this opportunity.

I would like to express my opposition to the proposed entertainment district, which has finally merged with the Marvel district.